


Hunted Magic

by nutmeag83



Category: Original Work
Genre: Asexual Character, Asexual Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hunters & Hunting, M/M, Minor Character Death, Protective Siblings, Road Trips, Snark, Supernatural Elements, Tea, Witches, but he's evil so it's okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-23
Updated: 2016-05-23
Packaged: 2018-06-10 04:39:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 35,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6940141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nutmeag83/pseuds/nutmeag83
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gage is a witch who is looking for a little adventure in his life. Finn is a lone hunter trying to avenge the death of his mother. When the two cross paths, they each realize the other may be able to help, if they can manage to get along long enough not to kill each other. When circumstances force the two on a hunt together, they begin to understand what they mean to each other. Will love get in the way or open new doors for them?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is an original work I've had sitting on my computer for a while, and finally decided to post it here. It's vaguely in the Supernatural universe (not owned by me, of course), but you needn't have watched the show to understand anything here. The world of hunting is pretty much as the same as the show, but I've completely made up the magic side, since the Winchesters don't deal in magic too heavily. And said Winchesters are mentioned by name once in a muttered oath, but again, you won't need to know anything about the show to understand it.
> 
> I've rated it Teen and Up because I drop the f-bomb a good amount, but the violence is pretty light and there's no sexual content (just luuuurrrrve).
> 
> This work is unbetaed. Hopefully I've read through it enough times to get rid of the most egregious errors, but feel free to let me know if you see anything gross. Thanks. :-)
> 
> Enjoy!

Gage looked up from the code on his computer screen as a jumble of goods clunked onto the counter in front of him. A young, lanky man looking several inches short of six feet glowered at him from under an unruly tangle of black hair. His face was angular but easy on the eye, and the rest of him wasn’t bad either. Grey eyes squinted at him in apparent urgency as the man pulled out a wallet.

“Can I pay for these or what?”

Gage realized he’d been staring at the very attractive customer longer than considered polite. “Sorry. Yeah, no problem.” He rang up a standard protection spell bag and some cedar smudge sticks. “You got someone bothering you?” Gage asked as the man handed over some cash.

The man grimaced. After what appeared to be some sort of internal debate, he took a breath. “I’m looking for a man who might have bought a few things from you recently.”

Gage quirked a questioning brow.

The man pulled a slip of paper from his pocket and handed it over. A man of few words, apparently. Gage glanced at it and laughed.

“What idiot would buy both a Taloan bulb and dragon’s blood? The two cancel each other out. Just having them in the same bag risks them losing their magical properties.”

The man frowned. “Do you know if someone came in and bought these things?”

Gage shrugged. “Not on my watch, but I’ll check the computer. I can’t imagine Anthony selling those things together at all, but who knows.”

“Anthony?”

“Boss man,” Gage replied, typing the ingredients into the inventory system. A moment later he huffed in surprise. “Yeah, a woman bought Taloan bulb, dragon’s blood, and Baltic amber last week.”

The man cocked his head. “How do you know it was a woman?”

“You aren’t the first hunter to come in looking for someone who bought something weird. It’s actually a fairly common occurrence. We keep tabs on anything out of the ordinary.” Gage smiled in delight when the hunter’s grey eyes widened slightly.

“How’d you―?”

“Seriously? You get a hunter or three in your place of business, you start picking up on things. You may not look like your average hunter, but you’re carrying an armory in your coat, and you’re asking about little-known magical ingredients. Also, you don’t smile.”

“I smile—“

“Dude, you’ve been frowning since you arrived. What’s with you guys, anyway? Did the monsters take away all your candy when you were a kid or something?”

The hunter’s frown deepened. “None of your business. This isn’t about me anyway. Do you know anything else about the woman?”

Gage glanced back on the screen. “Umm, about five-six, 30 to 35 years old, curly—“

“Red hair?”

“Know her?”

Gage thought the V in the hunter’s brow would sink right into the floor if it got any deeper. Hunters.

“Perhaps. There is a man that fits that description. Siblings, maybe.”

Gage stared at the computer screen. “Or a gender-swapping spell. She bought the ingredients for it. Those are tough, though. Someone with that level of abilities wouldn’t buy dragon’s blood and Taloan bulb together.”

The hunter sighed. “Yeah, they would. Be right back.”

He stalked—and truly, that was the only word for it—out of the magic shop and returned less than a minute later with an old book. He thrust the open pages toward Gage. Gage took it. He flipped to the cover to see that it was an old and fairly rare grimoire. He looked up at the hunter with raised eyebrows. Not exactly normal fair for hunters. Most hunters weren’t known for reading. They tended to be the kill-first, read-never types.

The hunter exasperatedly motioned him back to the open page. Gage obligingly flipped open the book and read the spell on the page. His grip tightened on the book as he read through the explanation.

“She’s collecting the souls of _children_?!? That’s disgusting!”

The hunter nodded. “I’ve been tracking him—uh her, for over a month. He/she goes to a town, steals a few souls, and moves on. It’s not noticeable, since children tend to act up a lot anyway, so people don’t notice the loss of souls right away. She’s getting bolder, though. Instead of taking just one or two souls per town, she’s taking dozens.”

“Holy shit. If you’ve been tracking her, why haven’t you stopped her yet?”

The frown deepened yet again. Now Gage knew it was for good reason, though. “I’ve tried. I stabbed the man three times now and shot him once. He keeps coming back. And has apparently taken to gender swapping as well.” The hunter scratched his jaw, causing Gage to train his eyes back on the book so as not to become mesmerized by the view. Damn, he was really good looking. He focused on the problem at hand.

“This is horrible. What are you going to do now? If stabbing and shooting doesn’t work.”

The hunter shrugged and rubbed his eyes. “I’ll figure something out,” he said with a drained grimace. “I always do.” He nodded at Gage, scooped up his ingredients and book, and turned toward the door. “Thanks for your help.”

“Wait! I can do more. I can help you figure out how to stop this person.”

The man shook his head as he walked away. “This is not your fight, man. Leave it to me.”

“But…” The door slammed shut behind the hunter, and Gage sat down with a sigh.

What the hell? Usually when hunters came in, they were hunting something bad but fairly harmless in the grand scheme of things. Usually something that went bump in the night or the occasional vengeful witch. But this, this was different. This person was taking dozens of souls. And from innocent children, no less. Obviously something big was going on, given the fact that the person—creature—couldn’t die easily and because of the uptick in the number of souls. What did they need the souls for? Why the gender swapping? And who was this hunter, who had a rare grimoire in his possession and seemed to know more than usual about magic?

He definitely wasn’t the stereotypical hunter, with his short, thin physique and his use of magic books and herbs. Apart salt and iron, most hunters stuck with guns and knives, but this one obviously knew how to protect himself with spells. Gage, who had studied magic his whole life, itched to get his hands on that grimoire again. He’d heard of that title, but had never seen it. And to find a spell that knew how to use those two ingredients without making them useless… there had to be some other great spells in there as well. Man, the things he could learn.

Gage sighed. Wishing would get him nowhere. He noted that he had another hour before he could close up shop, but things were pretty quiet. He pulled a few books out of Anthony’s private library in the back and settled in at the counter for some research.

###

Three days later, he still hadn’t come up with much. He had figured out that the gender swapping had to do with the soul-sucking spell requiring the caster to be male, but he still hadn’t figured out why the person needed the souls.

Gage was considering options as he dusted the shop one afternoon when a throat cleared behind him.

“Holy fuck!” He jumped and turned to see the hunter standing behind him, the ever-present frown gracing the man’s amazing face.

“You should get a new bell for the door. It’s dangerous being caught unawares like this—especially in a magic shop.”

Gage smiled flirtily. “Are you worried about me, hunter?”

The man crossed his arms in front of his chest uncomfortably. “More like worried for the general populace. If someone got a hold of even a few of the ingredients in this shop, they could do a lot of damage.”

“Eh. We keep the harmless stuff up front. The big guns are safely in the back or the basement. We cater mostly to the New Age crowd.”

“Still—“

“Yeah, I know. We’ve got the bell, I just keep forgetting to replace it.”

The hunter stared at him for a while. “Replace it today, okay?”

“Yes, Dad.” Gage sighed. “So, what brings you back? I was sure I’d never see you again after the way you left like your ass was on fire last time.”

“Those big guns you mentioned? I need some.”

Gage leaned against the front of the counter. “Oh yeah? What do you need?”

The hunter handed him a list.

“Shit, are you trying to bring every demon within a fifty-mile radius to your doorstep? This spell is like catnip to those guys.”

“Precisely.”

“Precisely? Care to elaborate?”

“No.”

“Then you don’t get the ingredients.”

“I can go to the magic shop in the next town.”

“I’ll tell Mags not to sell to you. Not that she wants demons flocking here anymore than I do.”

The hunter’s face tightened. “I need the ingredients. It’s the only way to stop this.”

“What good will a bunch of demons do you? Are you buddies or something?”

“No, but it will work.”

“The spell or the demons?”

“Both.”

“Tell me more.”

“No.”

Gage crossed his arms and waited, using a staring contest an excuse to drink in the hunter’s handsome features without censure. Hunters generally did not enjoy being ogled by the same sex, the bunch of hick pricks.

The hunter gave in within a minute. He sighed, dropped his arms, and rolled his eyes. “Fine. The spell will bind the witch’s soul to the spot, which I think will free the stolen souls.”

Gage started to protest, then stopped. “Huh, that actually might work.”

The hunter smirked, which was simultaneously a turn-on and off-putting.

“But you’ll still have to deal with a fuck-ton of demons after the binding.”

“The demons have no beef with me. I leave them alone, they leave me alone.”

Gage stared at the man in disbelief. “You’re a hunter. You automatically have a beef with all demons just by your very nature.”

“Fucking Winchesters,” the man grumbled, half to himself. “I’ll be fine. Now, I told you what I was going to do, so will you get me the ingredients?”

“Fine. But when those demons come after you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.” Gage went to the basement to gather ingredients.

A few minutes later he returned with a basketful of items.

The hunter looked through the jumble. “I didn’t ask for over half of this stuff. What is all this?”

Gage pulled up a few recipes on the computer and printed them out. He took the first one and piled several items on top of the page. “This is a demon protection spell. They can still kill you the normal way, but they can’t do any non-earthly woo-woo on you and they can’t possess your body. It’s basically like dowsing yourself in holy water.” He took the second page and piled more ingredients on it. “This will weaken the witch so you can kill her after you’ve bound her soul and freed the others.”

The hunter stared at him for a moment before nodding. “Thanks. What’s that for?” He pointed to a green bag still sitting by itself on the counter.

“Squeeze that and say my name if you’re ever in trouble and it will transport me straight to you.”

The hunter raised his eyebrows. “And when would a hunter need the protection of a witch? I’m pretty sure I see way more action than you ever have.”

Gage winked. “Oh, I see plenty of action, good sir.” The hunter wrinkled his brow in confusion, so Gage rolled his eyes and put on a more serious face. “We witches have our uses. I doubt you’ll get any of these to work anyway. They require a real practitioner to perform, not some dabbler hunter.” He looked up at the hunter hopefully. “I could help—“

“No. It’s too dangerous. I can figure this out myself. How much?”

Gage sighed and named the amount as he bagged the items. The hunter paid and turned to go with his newly acquired loot.

“Gage!” Gage said just before the hunter reached the door.

“Huh?”

“My name, if you need to call me, is Gage.”

The hunter stopped a moment, turned his head to flick Gage a salute, and strode out the door.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our hunter and witch meet back up and defeat a very bad person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Minor (evil) character death warning.

Finn slid into his car seat and shook his head. He had to give the witch—Gage—credit for being persistent, but this shit was far too deep for a non-hunter to deal with. He did appreciate the extra spells Gage had advised on, though. A competent and intelligent witch was nice to have around from time to time. Finn wished again that his sister had continued practicing, but he understood why she hadn’t. Just as Fe understood why he’d become a hunter. Each had dealt with the grief of their mother’s death in their own way, and neither judged the other for it.

He put thoughts of his family aside as he concentrated on his plan for defeating the soul-stealing witch he’d been hunting for over a month. He still wasn’t sure why she needed the souls, but he really didn’t care. His purpose was to stop her before she took any more, and to release the ones she already had. Finn pulled out the spells and read through them. One had to be done within a few minutes of casting and the other had to be cast by the person needing the protection, which was probably why the witch hadn’t offered to cast them himself. Finn knew the look Gage had given him. It was the same look all witches gave him when he asked for odd ingredients. The oh-look-the-dumb-ass-hunter-is-going-to-try-a-spell-how-cute look.

What the witches didn’t know was that Finn himself had been raised by a witch, one who had taught him and his twin from a young age. Okay, so maybe Finn had zero aptitude for magic, but the spells usually had at least some effect. He had to try. Having a witch alongside him wasn’t an option. It was too dangerous. So he’d do his best and hope he managed to kill or at least bind the witch.

A few hours later, after a nap and some food, he parked his car half a mile away from the abandoned barn where the witch had set up shop. The spells were prepped, but he needed to activate the protection charm before he went in. He cast it, but didn’t feel any different. Had it worked? Finn shrugged. If not, well, there wasn’t much he could do. He was still going in. He read through the soul-binding spell once more before getting out of the car, slinging a backpack on his back, and hiking the last half mile in.

He crept up to the decrepit barn and heard activity inside. Finn walked all around the barn and surrounding area to make sure the witch was alone, then he staked out a spot to finalize the spell. He started to pull out the ingredients when he heard rustling behind him. He whipped out his gun and aimed it at the figure looming over him. The tall, shadowy man put up his arms.

“It’s me, don’t shoot.”

“Fuck. Gage?” Finn lowered the gun as the moon came out from behind a cloud, illuminating Gage’s friendly brown face below his ever-present beanie. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here? _How_ are you here?” Finn hissed.

“I’m here to help. There’s no way you’ll get the soul-binding spell to work on your own. Or probably any of the spells.”

Finn grunted. “I’ve got this. I don’t need your help,” he protested, despite the fact that he probably did need the foolhardy witch’s help. “And again I ask, how did you know to come here?”

“I tracked you.”

“Shit, that bag you gave me to call you? Some sort of tracking spell?”

Gage grinned. “Close. Just a plain GPS tracker. I stuck it in the paper bag with the rest of the ingredients. I knew you’d need my help but that you wouldn’t call. And yes, the call bag actually does work, so keep it on you, okay?”

Finn silently counted to ten. “This is not safe for you. Would you please leave? I’ll be fine on my own.”

Gage crouched down next to Finn’s backpack and pulled out the rest of the ingredients. “Nope. You did a shitty job with the demon protection spell, but I can’t fix that, since it has to be self cast. I can help you with the soul-binding and weakening spells, though.”

He started murmuring over the bowl of ingredients. “Where is the witch?” He asked a moment later.

“In the barn,” Finn conceded. If he wasn’t going to get rid of the idiot, he supposed he might as well let him do his job.

Gage nodded. “This will work best if I have a line of sight on the subject.” He pulled a bag out of his shirt pocket, murmured a few words, and it was like darkness slithered over his body.

“What the…?”

“I’m pulling shadows to me so I can’t be seen,” came Gage’s low voice from the shadows in front of Finn. “Well, I can be seen, but I’m not nearly as noticeable in this darkness.”

Finn watched as the shadows reach out with a second bag, murmured again, and slid the bag around Finn’s neck. Finn saw his own body swallowed by shadow. “That’s creepy.”

A glint popped out from the darkness as Gage grinned. “You’re welcome. Let’s go.”

The shadows picked up the bowl, and Finn grabbed his backpack. They slowly made their way to the barn door and into the creaking building. They heard a low female voice chanting, followed by a bright light and a man’s chuckle. The gender-swapping spell. She must be getting ready to steal more souls. As soon as the witch’s figure was visible in the low light of a single lantern, Finn put his hand on Gage’s shoulder to stop him from going further. Gage knelt down with the bowl. Finn barely heard Gage’s voice as he cast the spell.

The witch gasped and looked around, obviously feeling the effects. Finn pulled out his gun once more, ready to shoot if the witch noticed them. He wondered how long they had until demons started showing up. He didn’t deal much with demons, so he wasn’t sure how fast they traveled or how long it would take them to notice the magic in the first place.

Gage said a few final words, then looked up, and his shadow nodded at Finn. Before Finn could react, dozens of lights—like fireflies but bigger and more colorful—swirled out of the witch and up into the air. It had worked! The binding had released the other souls. Finn hoped they were able to get back to the children.

He pointed toward his backpack, where the ingredients for the other spell waited. Gage nodded and dug through the pack for the spell bag. He said the activation word, squeezed the satchel, and handed it up to Finn, who tossed it at the witch’s feet. The witch, writhing in pain over her bound soul, didn’t notice. Finn inched forward to set his gun’s sights on the witch. He squeezed the trigger several times, putting bullets in the witch’s head and abdomen. Death usually wasn’t his thing, but he had no mercy for someone who stole the souls of children.

The witch dropped immediately. Finn walked cautiously up to her, bent over, and checked her pulse. Nothing. He sighed in relief and stood up.

“Wait!” Gage walked over and waved a crystal over the body several times until it glowed amber. “Okay, the soul is still here but detached from the body.” His hand hovered over the body as he chanted for several minutes. Oily smoke billowed from the body and sank into the ground.

“What the…”

“I sent her soul to hell.”

“You can do that?”

“Not easily, but yeah.”

“Wow.”

“Your welcome.”

Finn rolled his eyes. He heard the wind pick up. “We should hoof it before the demons show up. They’ll be pissed to miss out on all the tasty souls.”

Gage grunted his assent and handed over Finn’s pack. They left the barn and began jogging away from the building.

“Where’d you park?” asked Finn.

“Next to yours.”

They were stopped short as three demons materialized out of the darkness.

“I smell witch,” a man in a suit said.

The woman next to him walked up to Gage. “What are you, his hired muscle?”

They though Finn was the witch? Shit, he was tired of the stereotypes. Just because he wasn’t six-five with two hundred-plus pounds of sheer muscle, no one believed he was a hunter. Until they tried to fight him, that is. They learned pretty quick then. He stepped forward and cold cocked her. She went down but wasn’t knocked out. Not a surprise, as it took a lot to put a demon out of commission. Before he could go for the next demon, Gage grabbed his arm, said something in Latin, and made the world freeze.

“Run! The spell will only last a few minutes on those guys.”

Not questioning the witch, Finn ran. Already halfway to the cars when they encountered the demons, it took them only a few minutes to run the rest of the way. As they arrived, Gage pulled out a penknife and cut his hand. Before Finn could ask, Gage drew a sigil with his blood on the windshield of Finn’s car, then did the same to his own.

Gage nodded from Finn to his car. “Get in. The sigil will keep out demons.”

Finn hurried to his car as Gage got in his. He stopped before following suit. He stared at Gage for a moment. “Thanks, for helping me. It was completely idiotic, but you probably saved my life.”

Gage nodded hurriedly. “Get in your car. We can talk back at the shop.”

Finn got in his car, let Gage back onto the road first, then followed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gage gets annoyed, and Finn asks for help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this is a really short one! Just kind of setting things up for their continued relationship.

Gage waited all that night for the hunter to show up at the shop, but he never did. He was behind Gage’s car one minute, and gone the next. He didn’t show up the next day either. Or anytime the next month. Gage tried to ask around, but without a name, he didn’t get far. He wasn’t close with any hunters, so he couldn’t ask them.

He was pissed for the first two weeks. The guy admitted that Gage had saved his life, and then he didn’t have the decency to stick around or even give a name. What a shithead. A beautiful, brave shithead. Gage went from pissed to resigned the third week. The man was a hunter after all; what did Gage expect? They were surly loners by nature and, more often than not, ungrateful.

He was doing inventory in the basement about a month after the incident when the phone rang. He could hear talking upstairs, so he knew Anthony was with a customer, and he answered the extension. “Smith’s Magic and Sundry, how may I help you?”

“Gage? It’s Finn. Do you know of any ways to get rid of a ghost if the body was cremated?”

“What now?”

“I’ve got a ghost problem, but the body was cremated right after death. What else could hold a soul to the earth if the body’s no longer hanging around and I’ve burned all tokens?”

“Who is this?”

“Finn. From a few weeks ago? Soul-stealing witch problem?”

“Holy shit, the hunter?”

“Bingo. So, ghosts?”

“Isn’t this your line of work, not mine?”

There was a frustrated huff. “I’ve done everything I know how to do. I wondered if maybe it was a magic thing. We did do a soul-binding spell, after all. Could something like that make someone into a ghost?”

“ _I_ did the spell. There was no _we_ about that.”

“What-the-fuck-ever. Could it create a ghost?”

“No. Not that spell, at least. That one holds the soul in one spot, and it doesn’t allow a ghost to form. It’s a sort of suspended animation of the soul.” Gage thought a moment. “We’ve got a book on ghosts. Let me do a little research and get back to you. What’s your number?”

Pause. “I’ll call you back in an hour.”

“No! Don’t give me the run around, hunter. I’m busy right now. I’ll look when I’ve got time and will call you back later. What. Is. Your. Number?”

Gage heard a sigh and a string of numbers. “Hurry it up, okay? This sick fuck is vengeful and needs to go away now.”

“I’ll do what I can.” The call ended before Gage could say anything further.

###

Several hours of inventory and research later, Gage dialed Finn’s number. The hunter picked up on the second ring.

“Finally. What have you got for me?”

“Hello to you, too, honeybunch.”

Gage heard a frustrated grunt and a car door slam. Wind whistled over the line. “What did you find, witch?”

“If you want me on retainer, you have got to start treating me a little better, _hunter_.”

“I have a vengeful ghost killing a lot of people. I have no time to fuck around. Tell me what you’ve found.”

Gage grimaced. “Fine.” He glanced at the notes he’d taken. “If the person had a particular spot they gravitated to in life, they could have imbued it with their spirit, allowing them to hold on after death.”

Finn was quiet for a moment. “It’s a possibility. Is that all you found?”

“No. There are also a couple of spells that could create a vengeful spirit. Did the person have a reason to be angry at anyone in life, or were they peaceful?”

“Angry.”

Gage’s eyes slid to the last on his list. “That makes it easy, then. They probably dabbled in magic. A spell that allows them to avenge their death. They stick around until their vengeance is complete.”

“Can I counteract it?”

“Yes, and it’s fairly basic, so even you probably won’t mess it up.”

Gage heard a snort. “What makes you think I mess up spells?”

“A witch knows, man.”

Finn snorted again. “What do I need to do?”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn realizes that Gage can be helpful for more than just research, then promptly messes it up by being an assface.

Finn rubbed his tired eyes as he drove away from his latest job. Tracking the young wendigo had been easy, but the camping spot he’d used during the job had been filled with cicadas, so his sleep had been fitful. He kept costs low by camping and couch-surfing and watching his food expenses, and he did odd jobs to make money, supplemented by a minor inheritance from his mother. His sister, Fe, helped out where she could. Most hunters he’d met mocked his lifestyle―in regard not only to his cost-saving ways, but also his use of magic instead of the usual salt and iron approach―but it worked for him.

Still, a week of interrupted sleep was no fun. He considered taking a little nap before continuing on to a fellow hunter’s safe house a couple hundred miles away, but decided to push through the fatigue. The sooner he got to his destination, the sooner head would meet pillow for a deeper sleep than he could get curled up in his car on the side of the road. Plus, the long midsummer days meant he had hours of daylight left. No use sleeping them off.

Finn dialed Fe’s phone, but it went straight to voicemail, which meant she was busy and silencing his calls. He couldn’t get jack-shit on the radio this far in the boonies, so that was out. He wished he’d remembered to download some audiobooks or podcasts to listen to when he last had wi-fi. After the second time his head nodded forward, Finn sighed and reluctantly reached for his phone again.

“What is it this time? Rabid zombies? Maniac elves? Killer unicorns?”

Finn tamped down a smile at the obvious exasperation in Gage’s voice. “Aren’t zombies rabid by nature? Also, killer unicorns? Seriously?” he asked.

Gage chuckled. “Hey, it’s actually happened. Some town in the Midwest, several people got gored by an evil unicorn.”

“You’re fucking with me.”

“Me? Never.”

“Don’t even try to play innocent with me. I know what goes on under that beanie of yours.”

“Hah! I’m an iceberg, man. You’ve barely seen the tip.” Finn could hear the smile in Gage’s voice. He realized he’d let the silence go a little too long when Gage continued. “Sooo, what do you need help with?”

“Oh.” The beginning of Finn’s good mood wilted. He’d been enjoying the easy banter. The way he kept himself closed off meant he had few people he felt comfortable talking with. “Right. Actually, no help right now. I just wanted to tell you that the sedation spell worked on the banshee.” Over the past seven months or so, he’d consulted about jobs with Gage on an almost monthly basis. Having a witch around was definitely helpful.

Gage laughed. “Dude, that was weeks ago. It didn’t take you that long to track him, did it?”

Finn grinned sheepishly at the road in front of him. “No, I caught him within a few hours. I got caught up in another job right away, and I guess I forgot to call.”

“So? You never call to let me know how things work out.” Finn swore he heard some bitter notes in Gage’s tone. He tried to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, well, you were so sure I wouldn’t be able to make it work, I just had to call and let you know how wrong you were.”

Gage huffed. “So the spell knocked him out, huh? How long? It’s been known to last days.”

“Umm, well actually it just kind of zoned him out for a few hours.” The loud laughter on the line had Finn pulling his ear away from his phone. “I didn’t need him knocked out for days, okay? Just needed to calm him down enough to get his grief under control,” he grumbled once Gage stopped guffawing and took a gasping breath.

“If you say so, man.”

“It’s true! Once he came to enough to realize the harm he was causing, he tamped down his emotions. He had an appointment to see a therapist when I left him.”

“Do most people seek therapy after dealing with you, hunter? Maybe I should look into that.”

“Ha. Very ha.”

“Seriously, though. I know you do a lot of good and that you’ve saved a lot of lives. Thank you for that.”

Finn fidgeted in his car seat. “Why are you thanking me? I’ve never helped you.”

“But you’re sort of an unsung hero. Working behind the scenes. You tiptoe into town, clean up the mess, and leave again with most people none-the-wiser.”

Finn fidgeted again, unsure of how to respond. He did what needed doing. If even one kid was saved the agony of a parent’s death, he’d be happy. The fact that he got to punch a lot of things was just a nice benefit.

“You know, though. If you’d let me tag along, we could―”

“Don’t start this again. I’m the hunter, I hunt. You’re the witch, you research. It’s safest this way.” They’d had this argument twice now.

“But if you’re going to insist on using spells, you need them cast correctly. Otherwise you’re just wasting time and money. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but most other hunters are smarter than you, sticking with muscle and weapons.”

“Spells are better.”

“I agree. But you are the world’s worst spellcaster. Just a squeeze of the bag, and I could be there to help you out.”

“Enough,” Finn breathed. It had been a bad idea to call Gage. Their constant disagreements meant a friendly chat was apparently off the table. “Look, I’ve gotta go. Just… thanks, okay? I appreciate your help.” He ended the call before Gage could reply.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our boys discuss kelpies, and Finn unfreezes a little (aww, he missed Gage).

The weather was beginning to cool before Finn contacted Gage again. Gage stared at his phone for a few moments, surprised to see the hunter’s name show up on the screen. After the first couple of months of silence, Gage assumed Finn had decided to go it alone again.

He was annoyed with himself for trying to talk sense into the stubborn hunter, but he was more annoyed with Finn for shutting everyone out of his life. Most hunters had at least a couple of people they considered friends, but from what Gage could find out, Finn kept to himself. Many hunters knew of him, but few had had more than brief encounters with the silent man. And the one time Gage had managed to have a semi-normal conversation with the man, Finn had promptly gone cold.

Hoping Finn wasn’t on death’s door (what else would have prompted the call?), Gage answered his phone. “Hi,” he said simply.

“Hi.”

After a few moments’ wait, Gage prompted, “Do you need help with something?” He grimaced at his cold tone, but didn’t back down. He was done playing eager puppy to the taciturn hunter.

“Umm, yeah. How do you kill kelpies?”

“There’s a kelpie here in the States? I thought they were all across the pond with Nessie.”

“I dunno. There’s lots of Scottish people in the community, so I suppose it somehow came over with them? Apparently one family captured and enslaved it a century ago, but the last descendant just died, so it’s been wandering around luring people to their watery graves for the past few weeks. Do you realize how many bodies of water there are in Minnesota?” Finn sounded frustrated. Gage would take that over cold any day. He warmed a little.

“Ten thousand, last I checked.”

“That’s just lakes. You can’t walk three feet without stepping into a pond. So, can you help me?”Aaaand the acerbic tone was back.

Gage sighed mentally and walked over to his laptop on the kitchen table. “Give me a few minutes to research. I’ll call you when I find something.”

“I―yeah, sure. Okay.”

Eyebrows raised, Gage ended the call and started his search. Fifteen minutes later, he called the hunter back. “So you want to kill, yes? Not capture?”

“This thing was enslaved for a hundred years and is very pissed about it. I usually have qualms about outright killing, but as far as I know, kelpies just live to be dicks, so I don’t mind so much.”

“You’re right about that. Not a good one in the bunch as far as I can tell. It looks like a silver bullet will work for killing them.”

“Shapeshifter? I didn’t realize that.”

“Yup. They mostly take a horse shape, but can take any form, including that of a human, though they can’t speak.”

“Good to know. Is it just bullets that will kill, or anything silver?”

“Silver is definitely the allergy, but I guess bullets are just the most effective form. Why?”

“I’m out of silver bullets, but I have some silver-tipped bolts for my crossbow.”

“That should work, but I’d put more than one in him if possible. How do you have silver-tipped bolts but not bullets? What kind of hunter are you?”

“One that ran out of silver bullets after the last full moon but has leftover bolts from a recent wendigo hunt.”

Gage rolled his eyes. “Life of a hunter.”

“Yup. Okay, gotta go. Thanks.”

“Sure, no problem,” Gage said blandly to a dead phone connection. The hunter really needed to develop some interpersonal skills. All the good looks in the world wouldn’t save the man from exasperated punches from the people he worked with.

###

Gage appreciatively sniffed the air a few weeks later on his walk from his car to the shop. Autumn had always been his favorite, with the smell of drying leaves and wood smoke permeating his small New England town. Life didn’t get any better than this. He had a job he loved that allowed him to expand his craft, a small house to call his own, and time in the evenings to enjoy his hobby of computer coding. And a hunter standing sheepishly outside his place of employment….

“Finn?”

Finn nodded, hands deep in his jacket pockets. “Gage.”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

“Nice to you see you, too.”

Gage raised his eyebrows and waved the hunter out of the way so he could unlock the shop door. After tracing a couple of runes on the door with his finger, he shoved his key into the lock and pushed Finn through the now-open door. “Seriously? You start every phone call as if we’re in the middle of a conversation and yet get pissed when I’m a little short after you show up unannounced?” He locked the door behind him and flipped on the lights, then stalked to the alcove in the back of the store where a coffeepot sat on a table. “Coffee?”

Finn grimaced and shook his head.

“Ah, tea drinker?” He went for the tea tins at Finn’s surprised nod. “Man after my own heart. I make the sludge for the bossman, but can’t stand the stuff myself. A hunter who performs magic, interacts with witches, and drinks tea. Methinks you have a witch of your own in the family.” Gage did a mental facepalm. He was supposed to be angry with the hunter, but here he was chatting like all was well. He tried to strengthen his resolve in spite of Finn’s hangdog expression.

Finn gave a curt nod but didn’t explain. Gage rolled his eyes. “Irish Breakfast okay with you?”

“Uh… yeah.”

Gage finished prepping the teapot and turned back to Finn. “So. Are you going to run like a scared rabbit if I ask why you’re here?”

Finn scowled. “Why would I be scared of you?”

“I dunno. But any time I try to have a real conversation with you, I get a period of radio silence.”

“Hunting isn’t an easy life. I don’t have the luxury of fireside chats.”

Gage felt his anger bubble to the surface again. Good. “Oh, fuck that. You’re a bitter, angry hunter who doesn’t like people. I’ll bet you chose your job as an excuse to keep people away.”

“You have no idea why—“

“Of course I don’t. Because you refuse to share even the slightest tidbit of information about yourself, you prick! I’ve helped you for over a year now. Taken time out of my own schedule to research monsters and spells. All I ask in return is for you to tell me just a little something about yourself. Nothing deep. I’d settle your favorite season at this point. Or your favorite food.”

Gage looked up from the candle he’d been staring angrily at during his rant to see Finn staring at him with slightly widened, bemused eyes.

“I’m just trying to be your friend, Finn, but you’re not making that easy.”

“I’m a hunter—“

“I’m aware of that, jackass. I’m not saying we need to braid each other’s hair and have slumber parties.” Finn snorted. “But we can talk about more than just your current hunt.”

The kettle beeped. Gage walked over to set the tea to steeping, mentally shrugging as Finn stayed silent. He could out stubborn the hunter, he was sure of it. He wasn’t saying another word until Finn explained a few things.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn a little of Finn's and Gage's backgrounds and meet the (sort of) big bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, confession time. I really suck at dramatic tension, especially of the external variety. This will probably not be a very satisfying story arc, but I'm working on it....

Even knowing Gage’s tendency to get passionate about a subject, Finn was surprised by that little outburst. He had thought that Gage constantly asking to help out in the field was just the witch wanting to do more practical magic than he likely got to do in his quiet town. He had never suspected that Gage actually wanted to be his friend. No one ever wanted to be Finn’s friend, besides his own twin, of course, and that had more to do with sharing a womb for nine months and less to do with his charm. Finn knew it was his own acerbic personality that kept people at arm’s length, but it was for the best. His job was too dangerous.

However, he did realize that Gage had been a great help over the past year. His hunts had gone much more smoothly lately, and he was less likely to resort to killing. If he was going to keep working with the witch, maybe being on a somewhat friendly level would be not so horrible.

“Autumn.”

Gage turned from pulling two mugs off the shelf above the kettle, an eyebrow raised in question.

Finn continued before he could chicken out. “My favorite season is autumn. I… I grew up in Arizona. Not exactly known for having seasons. So, now I try to spend as much of autumn in the northern part of the country, so I can see the leaves change.”

Gage’s face softened. “It’s my favorite, too. Love the smell.” He looked down at the mugs he was holding. “Milk? Sugar?”

Finn smiled tentatively back. “Any chance you have brown sugar?”

“Odd choice, but yeah, we do.” Gage waved to a canister and handed Finn a spoon. He grabbed milk out of the mini fridge for himself, pouring in a splash before adding tea. Finn held out his mug for Gage to add tea to. He pulled back the mug and lifted it for a deep sniff. Just the smell sent him back to before his mum’s death, when she’d make them tea before shooing him and Fe off to school. It made him feel safe and happy.

Gage’s odd grunt brought Finn back to the present. He opened his eyes and stirred sugar into his tea. “What?”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen you smile before.”

“We’ve only been face-to-face for probably an hour total.”

Gage shrugged and blew on his steaming tea. “I’ve never even heard a smile in your voice when we’ve talked on the phone. At best, I’ve noticed a sarcastic smirk. But just now you actually looked… happy.”

Finn looked down at his mug uncomfortably. “It’s been a while since I’ve had tea. Reminds me of when I was a kid.”

“Ah, well I’m glad I could give you both the memory and the tea, then.”

Finn looked up at Gage, leaning casually on the counter. Gage gave him a small smile. “What else can I help you with?”

Finn shifted from foot to foot. He didn’t really know for sure what had compelled him to seek out the witch. He’d just finished a job in upstate New York, but instead of heading straight south on his way to a possible werewolf sighting in South Carolina, he’d headed east to Connecticut.

“Umm. I was in the area and figured I should top off some of my ingredients. Since you know what I need, I figured I’d swing by on my way south.

Gage gave him a bemused look as he pushed away from the counter and looked at his watch. “I’ve gotta get the shop ready for opening. The boss’ll be here soon.”

Finn smothered a smidgeon of disappointment. “Right. I can come back—“

“Come to the back with me. We can talk about your inventory while you help me restock the front.” Gage nodded toward the back.

Finn put down his mug and followed the man to the back.

“I’ve got a few talismans I want to throw together for you to keep on you. They help ward off evil and draw in good luck. Maybe the good luck will help you with your casting,” Gage continued with a smirk.

“I’m not that bad.”

“You’re horrible. My four-year-old niece could cast better than you. Actually, she probably already does, known Shayna’s teaching skills.”

“Shayna?”

“My cousin—who is more like my sister. We grew up in the same house, living with my nanna and my aunt, Shayna’s mom who adopted me. They taught us everything we know about white witchcraft. I’m sure Shayna is doing the same with her daughter. She teaches witchcraft at a magic shop in Massachusetts.”

“So magic is a family thing for you, huh?” Finn pulled down the box Gage pointed to, lugging it to the front, with Gage close behind.

“Yup. Can you restock that shelf with those candles?”

Finn nodded and began placing candles on the shelf Gage had indicated.

“My parents died in a car accident when I was three. Nanna says my biological mother didn’t practice, apparently she sucked at it as much as you do,” Gage said, casting Finn a sly look. Finn rolled his eyes and went back to stocking. “But Nanna could tell that both Shayna and I had a natural affinity for magic, so she and Mom bought a house on the coast of Massachusetts, moved all four of us in, and we lived and learned there until Shayna and I went to college. Shayna stayed in town, but I came here and got a business degree. I started working here at Smith’s during college and just kept at it once I graduated. I’m saving up to buy the store off of Anthony someday.”

Finn turned back toward Gage, holding his now empty box. Gage was smiling to himself, lost in memory and future plans. Finn took the opportunity to study the man. His smile made his light blue eyes twinkle in a friendly way that reminded Finn of J.K. Rowling’s descriptions of Dumbledore. Of course, the physical similarities ended there, with Gage’s bulk (larger than Finn’s ranginess but not huge) and beanie lending him a hunter vibe. And, instead of an old British dude, Gage was young with light brown skin that spoke of mixed race and complemented his blue eyes. Also, Finn was pretty sure Gage didn’t have a calculating bone in his body. What you saw was what you got, and Finn was grateful for the simplicity of it.

“So, what do I need to stock up on, besides a few things I know I need?” he asked, waving a piece of paper he pulled out of his pocket and handed to Gage.

Gage’s eyes cleared as he looked at the list, and he tilted his head in thought before continuing to stock the shelf. “Like I said, I’ve got a few talismans for you. Some charms wouldn’t be out of place and are hard to mess up.” He listed off a jumble of ingredients, with Finn only recognizing half of them. They stocked a few more items, Gage turned the door sign to Open, and then he began gathering ingredients.

“So, why’d you become a hunter? Or is that too private for your comfort?” Gage asked as he began making charm bags.

Finn leaned against the counter, watching the man work. It was calming and put him at ease, reminding him of his childhood. He could not, however, be lulled into a false sense of security. His life would always be dangerous. He shrugged.

“A bad run-in with a monster as a teen.”

“Protection or vengeance?”

“My reason for hunting? Does it matter?”

“Of course it does. Are you truly wanting to help people or are you in it for your own selfish reasons?”

Finn bristled. Who was Gage to judge Finn’s actions. Then he remembered his vow to be nicer to the man. “It started as the latter, but the former kept me going.” He smirked, picking up a bag that Gage quickly grabbed back. “Plus, I enjoy punching things, and I’m very good at that.”

“Then why magic? It’d be easier on you to just punch or shoot than try to ineffectively magic them.”

“Punching is one thing—and I get to do plenty of that—but I have no taste for killing.”

Gage looked up from the ingredients he was placing in a bag. His face showed some surprise. “But you’re a hunter.”

“Do we need to have the stereotyping talk again?”

Gage grinned sheepishly. “Right. I—“

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as the door dinged open. Both men looked to the front of the shop.

Finn froze in shock. A face long stamped in his memory appeared in front of him, but with a friendly smile rather than the mask of rage he remembered. He had seen the face for less than five seconds before his mother’s teleportation spell sent him and Fe far from their home, but he would never forget the man who had killed his mum. Finn’s breath and heartbeat quickened. He clenched his fists to try to stay calm, but his grip was tenuous. He went to grab Gage’s arm to pull him out of harm’s way when Gage spoke with no sign of fear.

“Hey, Anthony. That book you ordered came in yesterday afternoon. I put it in your office.”

Finn’s breath caught in his throat. His mother’s murderer was Gage’s boss? Sweet, happy Gage worked for a _killer_?

“Oh, and this is Finn, the hunter I’ve been working with. Finn, my boss, Anthony.” His grin faltered as he took in Finn’s tense face. “Finn?”

“I—I have to go.” If he didn’t get out of the shop in the next thirty seconds, he knew he’d attack the man, self-preservation be damned. He had waited almost half his life to face his mother’s killer. It would do him no good if he failed because he didn’t think things through and assess the situation. Finn forced himself to look away from the evil man and walk toward the front door.

“Finn? What’s wrong? Finn!”

“I’ll be back later,” Finn ground out. He gave in and glanced at Anthony as he passed by, which allowed him to see the look of recognition in the man’s eyes.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big bad is predictably evil and the boys hit the road while trying to learn to work together. Bad puns are made.

Gage was pondering Finn’s behavior a few hours later as he walked back to the store from a delivery. While the man was often taciturn and stoic, Gage didn’t think he was the type to walk out in the middle of an introduction. And the look on his face—it was as if Finn had seen his worst nightmare and greatest wish all at once. He obviously knew Anthony, though Gage’s boss hadn’t said a word when the hunter had hurried out the door that morning. He had raised his eyebrows, wished Gage a good morning, poured himself a cup of coffee, then headed to his office. He had been sequestered there still when Gage had left the shop, which was odd. The man loved people and most often worked the front of the shop while Gage handled inventory, books, and deliveries.

The doorbell rang as Gage opened the shop door in time to hear an incantation flowing from the back of the shop. Curious, he followed Anthony’s voice, which was pitched higher than usual. It was only as Gage crossed the threshold to the back room that he caught the words. A holding spell, and not a nice one either. His eyes went to the wall to his left, where Finn’s body was slammed against the wall a few inches above the floor. Anthony stood a hairsbreadth from the hunter, a look of pure rage gracing his usually friendly face. The shock of the tableau stilled Gage for a moment.

“Tell me where the grimoire is, you son of a—“

Gage acted without thinking. He said a few words quietly to himself while digging a charm from his jacket pocket. He threw the charm at Anthony’s feet, who collapsed to the floor with a grunt. Finn fell on top of him, as Anthony’s unconsciousness released the spell. Gage rushed to Finn, pulling him to his feet.

“What the—“ he began.

“We have to go,” Finn said huskily, rubbing his throat.

“But…”

“No. Run. NOW.”

Gage obeyed without another word. He somehow had the presence of mind to grab the bag of ingredients that Finn had left on the counter in his haste to leave earlier. Finn growled impatiently as Gage also grabbed a couple of books and his laptop sitting on a nearby table. Gage dashed for the door, Finn pushing him through and down the street, stopping when he came to his beat-up but non-descript car. He practically shoved Gage into the passenger seat before jogging to the driver’s side and getting in. Finn jammed the keys into the ignition and pulled out onto the street, quickly but safely. Several streets down the road, Gage shook himself free of his stupor.

“What the hell, Finn? Why did I just hex my boss and then run out with you?”

Finn swallowed hard. “That man is not you think he is. He’s a killer.”

“WHAT? I’ve known Anthony for almost ten years. He’s never been anything but kind and helpful.”

“It’s a façade.”

“No! I don’t believe you.”

“Then why’d you come with me? Why did you hex him?”

“I…”

“Your instincts trusted me back there. Now your mind needs to follow suit. That man is _evil_.”

“But.”

Finn glanced over at Gage. There was a raw openness Gage had never thought he’d see in the man’s gorgeous face. “Please.”

Gage stopped further protestations. He didn’t know why, but he did trust Finn. Even over the boss who had had almost a decade to gain Gage’s trust. It was the look on Anthony’s face that had decided Gage back at the shop. It wasn’t just rage, which Finn might have earned. It was pure malice and evil. Although he’d never seen it on Anthony before, it fit perfectly on his face. Gage looked over at Finn, who was white-knuckling the steering wheel.

“Turn left at the light.”

“What?”

“We’re going on the run, right? I need supplies. And clothes…”

“We don’t have time—“

“Now it’s your turn to trust me. It won’t take long.”

Finn gave Gage a pained look, but turned at the light as requested. After a few more turns, Finn parked in front of Gage’s bungalow. Gage hurried up the walk, murmuring a spell that put him in a time bubble as he crossed the threshold. He packed a bag of clothes and toiletries, another with more ingredients and charms, and a third of books and his laptop. Before long, he was shoving bags into the backseat of the car.

“What the… you just went in… how’d you…?”

Gage grinned as he slid into the front seat of the car. “Time charm, my friend. I can only cast it on myself, so it’s doing us no good idling here. Punch it.”

Finn shook his head in wonder and pulled back onto the street.

Gage cleared his throat, preparing himself for a difficult discussion. “Okay, so tell me what you know about Anthony so I can start figuring out how to stop him.”

“No.” Finn shot back.

“We can’t defeat—“

“There is no we and there is no defeating. I’m taking you to your family, then I’ll figure out what to do about that man.”

“Finn!”

Finn gripped the steering wheel and breathed in and out a few times. “I will not put you in harm’s—“

“Do not start this argument again, Finn. I am an adult. I am a witch. I can make my own choices and defend myself.”

“This isn’t your fight.”

“Like hell it isn’t! It became my fight when my boss put my friend in a Freyan Hold spell. Are you okay, by the way? I’ve heard that can hurt like a bitch.”

Finn rubbed his throat in remembrance. “I’ve had much worse.”

“I’ve got a pain-relieving charm…”

“I’m fine, Gage.”

Gage sighed. A few minutes later, once they were on the highway, he remembered the scene he’d walked in on.

“What grimoire was he talking about?”

The deep V between Finn’s eyebrows came back.

“I told you, Finn, I’m involved now, too. Just tell me what this is about so I can help you.”

A growl rumbled from Finn’s throat as he rubbed a finger over his brows. After a minute or so, he sighed in defeat.

“I’m not positive. I only saw him for a few seconds last time. I’ve never spoken with him before.”

“So this wasn’t a bad encounter while hunting?”

Finn’s silence helped Gage piece it together.

“He’s there reason you’re a hunter, isn’t he? What the hell happened?”

“I knew he was after something, but I didn’t know what until today. And even now, I’m not sure if it’s the same grimoire.”

“The one you came into the shop with when we first met?”

Finn nodded. “It was… It’s been in my family…”

Gage remembered Finn’s words when they first ran. _That man is not you think he is. He’s a killer_.

“Who did he kill, Finn?”

Finn swallowed hard. “My mum,” he answered softly, staring at the road as if his life depended on it.

“Oh, Finn. Gods.”

“I came home from school one day to find him holding her against the wall, much as he had me today. It must be a signature move,” Finn added inanely. “He was asking her where it was, though I didn’t know what ‘it’ was at the time. She… she saw… me walk into the room. I had never seen her look like that before. Her face went from defiance to terror in an instant. Before I could even shout, she murmured something. That monster turned to look at me. I saw his face for the briefest of moments before I was transported to Ireland. I never knew she had that kind of power. She had taught us small magic, so I guess I never realized… to be able to transport… that distance...” Finn’s spew of words petered out.

“She must have been powerful indeed.” Gage felt the words inadequate, but he knew Finn would recoil from sympathy. “Why Ireland?”

“That’s where she was from. She had apparently gotten in a fight with my grandparents as a teenager. They were black magic users.”

“And she sent you back to them?!?”

Finn huffed a breath of laughter. “No. But she had a childhood friend there. Apparently Alanna had agreed to care for… me if something happened to Mum. I lived with Alanna for a year, long enough to finish school and get Anthony off my trail. I went back to Sedona long enough to sell the house, then hit the road with a hunter I knew.

Gage pulled off his beanie and scratched his head. He had never expected to get Finn’s backstory. Of course, he also never expected to be on the run with Finn from Anthony either. After a moment’s orientation, he twisted in his seat to grab the bag of books he’d packed.

“Okay. So what do we want? Do we want to mask our trail? Find Anthony’s? How do you want to work this?

“We want to get you safely to Massachusetts.” Gage glared at Finn until Finn sighed. “Fine. You win. For now. Let’s start with masking our trail. We need a few days to regroup.”

Gage nodded. He pulled out a couple of books and got to work.

“I’ll need to refresh the magic every hundred miles or so,” he said a few hours later over a tray of McDonalds. “At least while we’re moving. Once we settle down for the night, I can do something a bit more permanent.”

“Unless you’re exceptionally talented—“

“I am.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “Unless you want to be holding these spells open indefinitely, we need to get to a tattoo shop.”

“Huh?”

Finn pulled up a shirt sleeve and tapped at his bicep. Gage saw two familiar protection markings there and knowledge dawned. “Smart.”

“I am,” Finn said, throwing Gage’s words back at him.

Gage threw a fry at him. “Shut it.”

Finn grinned, picked up the fry from where it had landed on the tray and tossed it in his mouth. Gage tried not to look too hard at Finn’s lips as he did so. It was one thing to salivate quietly over a man he’d barely interacted with in real time, but another to fawn over him when he’d be roadtripping with him for the foreseeable future. He was awkward enough on his own without squicking out his new partner in crime. He diverted his thoughts.

“Umm, I really don’t like needles.”

“You better get used to them if you’re going to hang with me, man.” Finn pulled down the collar of his grey tee to show another tattoo below his collarbone, then turned his head and lifted his (decidedly **not** gorgeous, thank you very much) mess of black hair to reveal yet another.

“Shit, you don’t do it by halves.”

“It’s kept me whole.”

Gage snickered, and Finn raised his eyebrows in question.

“Halves… whole…”

Finn rolled his eyes. “You’re such a geek.”

“Don’t tell me you’re just figuring this out.”

“The malady is worse than I first suspected.” Finn said in mock seriousness, then glanced out the window. “We should hit the road. I’d like to put a few hundred more miles between us and him before we bed down for the night.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys go camping, bicker a lot, and try to come up with a plan. At least they get some tea out of it.

This was a disaster. Instead of sitting in his car alone as he tried to figure out how to stop Anthony, Finn was worrying about his sleeping passenger—someone who was no longer safe because of Finn’s personal problems. He’d tried again to persuade Gage to go stay with his family until everything settled down, but Gage shut him down before Finn could get four words out of his mouth. Gage’s stubbornness was about to drive Finn batty.

He rubbed a hand over tired eyes and tried to focus on the bigger problem of Gage’s boss possibly trying to hunt them down at this second. Even with his lack in magical knowledge, Finn knew he should worry that Anthony would be able to find them just from knowing Gage for the past decade. He had to have plenty of objects owned by Gage that he could use to track them down. Not mention, Anthony was an accomplished witch himself, so he might know magic that Gage couldn’t even think of. Not for the first time, Finn urged the miles to go by faster so they could get to the tattoo artist he trusted to ink some anti-tracking and protection charms on Gage. Needle phobia or not, the man needed the protection.

Ten more minutes of worrying and trying to stay awake had Finn admitting defeat. He pulled onto a dirt road with a nearby copse of trees where they could bed down for the night. Gage woke up as Finn turned off the engine.

“What’s wrong? Where are we?” he mumbled.

“Everything’s fine. I’m about to faceplant into the steering wheel, so I figured we should stop for the night. As for where we are… we’re somewhere just outside of the Allegheny forest, heading toward Youngstown.”

“Why are we going to Ohio?”

“I know a tattoo artist there.”

Gage’s sleepy face turned a little green. “Right.” He shook himself a bit. “Do you want me to drive now? I caught a little sleep, so I should be okay until we can find a hotel.”

“Hotel?”

“Yeah, for sleeping…”

“I don’t do hotels.”

Gage stared at him bemusedly. “You don’t do hotels? What does that even mean?”

“Exactly what it sounds like.”

“Where do you sleep, then?”

“A tent. Or the back of my car.”

“Seriously?”

“Hotels cost money. Hunters don’t exactly earn a wage, so I try to keep costs down.”

“Don’t you miss beds?”

“Of course. I’m only human. And I do couch surf a bit, or get a hotel when the weather is bad and I’m stranded. But for the most part, I make do with a sleeping bag and a tent.”

“Huh.” Gage replied, nonplussed.

“What?”

“Nothing. I guess I just shouldn’t be surprised. You’re a pretty no-frills guy. And you don’t exactly care for people all that much.”

Finn snorted, got out of the car, and headed for the car trunk. Gage followed. “My tent is small but it’ll fit both of us. But you’re welcome to sleep in the car if you’re afraid of either the outdoors or me. Though I’ll warn you that even I find the backseat too squished for more than a catnap.”

Gage gave Finn an inscrutable look over the open trunk but said, “Then I guess I’ll take my chances with you.”

“Don’t worry. I only bite people I like.”

Gage coughed and ducked his head into the trunk. “What do you need out of here?”

Finn let Gage unpack the things they’d need while Finn put together the tent, which took him less than five minutes after years of practice. He looked over to see Gage hauling books out of the car.

“No, sir. You are not staying up reading. You can do that on the road tomorrow. We’re only camping for a few hours, so you shouldn’t waste the time.”

“Reading is not wasting time. Especially when I’m trying to keep us alive.”

“Oh, you’re keeping us alive, huh? And what have I been doing all day?”

“Driving and not divulging your plans.”

Finn breathed deep and waited a few seconds before replying. “Because I’m the one who has been a hunter for the past eleven years. Once I need magic, we’ll talk. But until I know how I want to go about this, I don’t need your help.”

Gage gripped a book tightly in an obvious effort not to chuck it at Finn. Finn didn’t care. He knew what was best. He wasn’t going to babysit the witch, and he didn’t need his help, either.

“I suggest you put the books away and get ready for bed. I want to roll by five.” Finn rifled through his duffel looking for his toiletry bag. He heard Gage slam the car door and then go through his own bag, all the while murmuring to himself. Finn vaguely wondered if it was a spell or just the mumblings of an annoyed man, but ultimately realized he was too tired to care. He shrugged as he began brushing his teeth.

###

Finn was torn from sleep by some of the worst banjo music he’d heard in his life. And this as someone who enjoyed a good bit of bluegrass.

“What the hell?” he asked, bolting to a seated position. He heard a groan next to him.

“Fuuuuck. Morning already? Guh.” Gage turned on his side, curling around his pillow.

“Turn off that damn music, would you?”

After twenty seconds of Gage’s whiny groaning accompanying the banjo, Gage complied. Finn yanked the pillow and blanket out of Gage’s grasp while the man was distracted by his phone.

“But!” Gage began once he realized what Finn was doing.

“We need to hit the road. What’s with that godawful alarm, anyway?”

Gage grinned sleepily, looking way more adorable than a grown man had any right to. Finn ignored the funny flip of his stomach. “I’m a heavy sleeper. I think the only reason I woke at all was that sleeping outside doesn’t make for deep sleeping. At home, it takes three alarms to get me out of bed.”

Finn shook his head as he exited the tent to begin getting ready. “Be a help, witch. Can you heat some water for coffee?”

“Urgh. I thought you hated it.”

“I do, but I also need to stay awake, and I don’t have any other form of caffeine on hand.”

Gage poked his head out of the tent and gave Finn another sleepy smile. “I do.”

Finn stared at him for a moment. “You brought tea, didn’t you? What **didn’t** you bring?”

“I never leave home without tea.” Gage walked over to the car and dug through another bag. “Irish breakfast or ginger mate?” he asked, holding up two tins.

Finn pondered the tins. “Mate,” he replied with a small grimace.

“Not a fan?”

Finn shrugged and went to break down the tent. “It’s got a higher caffeine content than black tea and the taste is still preferable to coffee. It’s not my favorite, but I’ll survive.”

Gage scrounged up some water and then pulled an honest-to-god teapot from his Mary Poppins bag.

“Seriously?”

“What good is loose-leaf tea without a teapot?”

“Haven’t you heard of bagged tea?”

“Oh, gross.”

They bickered as they continued breaking down camp and then continued well into the first hour of their journey. Gage annoyed the hell out of Finn, but he had to admit it was nice not to have constant silence. Still, he was glad Gage had books to keep him mostly distracted. The man could talk _a lot_ when he was on the right subject. He was jabbering on about a spell as they finally reached Akron a couple of hours later.

Finn gave an internal sigh of relief as they reached a magic shop not long after they hit the city limits.

“What are we doing here?”

“Getting ingredients for your tattoos.”

“First of all, _tattoos_ , as in plural? Second of all, why didn’t you check to see which ingredients I have before making a probably unnecessary trip to a magic shop?”

“I doubt you have every ingredient we’d need.”

“Try me.”

Finn sighed. “Amaranth?”

“Seriously? I’m on the run. I wouldn’t leave home without it.”

“Bladderwrack.”

“Yup.”

“Sow thistle.”

Gage thought a moment. He pulled a black bundle from the back seat, unrolling it into a cloth with many small pouches filled with glass bottles. He pulled out a mostly empty bottle and shook it. “Depends on how much we need.”

Finn rolled his eyes. “That should be enough. We only need a small dusting of each to mix with the ink.”

“See? If you shared your plans with me, then I could have told you I had the ingredients. I could’ve also been researching magical tattoos to make sure your rune is the best.”

“My rune works great. I’m still alive, aren’t I?”

Gage shrugged. “Fine. Whatever. You still should’ve let me know beforehand.”

“Do you need to top anything off while we’re here?” Finn asked, ignoring his huffy companion.

“Aren’t you worried about being seen?”

“They’ll keep quiet here. They’re…old family friends.”

Gage lit up. “Would they know anything about Anthony?”

Finn shook his head. “I asked when I first started hunting.”

“But you barely knew what was going on. Maybe I can ask stuff you didn’t think about or didn’t know to ask.”

“We don’t really have time to play twenty questions with every person we meet.”

Gage gave Finn an incredulous look. “Research is how we’re going to end this. The more we know, the more we can prepare.”

“I know that, but I’ve already asked—“

“It can’t hurt to ask again.” Gage shoved open the car door and stalked to the magic shop. After a couple minutes of thought, Finn reluctantly followed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gage gets tattoos, and the boys start getting closer while making plans.

“See? I told you it’d be a good idea to ask,” Gage crowed after their visit.

“Yeah, yeah. But just remember that if I’d checked with you about needing to stop at the shop in the first place, we would’ve bypassed the shop completely.”

“Don’t get cocky, mister. I’ll admit it was a group effort coupled with extremely lucky circumstances.” Gage grinned over at Finn as they drove through Akron to the tattoo parlor.

It turned out that the magic shop owner, Opal, had an idea of who Anthony was. She didn’t know Anthony personally, but when Gage had described the man and the circumstances that had caused Finn and Gage to run, she had turned straight to her library and pulled out a couple of books.

“I have heard of such a witch,” Opal had said. “Female witches are more common, of course, so pinpointing male witches is somewhat easy. Combine that with the fact that he sounds pretty power hungry and is on the quest for a grimoire, and your haystack gets much smaller.” She scanned a book for a few minutes before shutting it and opening the second. “Aha,” she said, turning the open pages to Finn and Gage. “My great-aunt wrote an account of an altercation with a witch back in the 1920s. He was looking for the grimoire even then, though he never said why. He tried to kill her, but he must have been fairly young then, because she managed to overpower him and get away. She didn’t seem to know why he needed the grimoire, though.”

Gage scanned the handwritten page for clues. But as Opal had said, it just recounted the event, with few musings on why Anthony wanted the grimoire. Not that it really mattered. They only needed to find a way to defeat Anthony.

“The why is moot,” said Finn, voicing Gage’s thoughts. “We just need to kill him.”

Gage gasped. **Kill** Anthony?

Finn turned to Gage with exasperation clear on his face. “I know he was your mentor and all, but there’s no way around it. I don’t like killing, but I know when it’s the best course of action. Even if we take away his power, there are ways of him getting it back. Not to mention, he could continue killing without magic, if he’s got a taste for murder. The only way to guarantee he won’t hurt anyone else is to kill him first.” With his face set, he turned to Opal. “Tell us how to kill a powerful witch.”

###

“If we want Anthony to find us, I don’t see why I still need to get the tattoos,” Gage said as he sat in the chair at the tattoo parlor. His hands were sweaty as he clenched and unclenched them around the book he was holding. He really, really hated needles.

“Because I know you’re going to continue rushing headlong into danger, and it’s good to have some protection,” Finn shot back as he lounged on a nearby couch. “Plus, I like to see you squirm.”

Gage shot Finn his sternest look. “I’m pretty sure I’m beyond squirming and into hyperventilating territory here. If this is all for your amusement, I’d rather stop now.”

Finn rolled his eyes and went back to perusing the book Opal had sold them, so Gage returned to Finn’s grimoire in an attempt to figure out what Anthony wanted. Chris, the tattoo artist who had done all of Finn’s protective tattoos, was busy for another hour or so, but she’d let them hijack an empty room to hang out in while they waited. They were using the time to prepare for the hunt.

It still floored Gage that he was going on a hunt with an actual hunter. And a hunt for his old boss, no less. His life had changed so much in the past year. First with Finn becoming this long-distance fixture across the phone line, and then with Gage on the run from the man who was the closest he had to a father. And now Gage was agreeing to get not one, but two, tattoos while figuring out how to kill said father figure.

They had agreed that the witch version of a devil’s trap would be the best way to catch Anthony in one spot, but they still had to figure out how to lure him to a specific spot, and then decide which spell would work best to kill what was apparently an extremely powerful witch.

Gage hoped the grimoire would give him an idea. Opal had had a few possible spells, but, of course, magic made to kill witches were pretty rare. And they had no idea of Anthony’s true powers—he had always seemed mild-mannered and quiet with his magic, never touching anything too powerful or heavy, so Gage had had no idea of how much power he yielded. Gage flipped pages of the grimoire half-heartedly, not expecting to find what he was looking for. And then he saw The Spell.

“Holy fuck,” Gage uttered, staring flabbergasted at the page he’d flipped to, scanning the text to make sure the spell was what he thought it was.

Finn’s head whipped up, and he fixed Gage with his grey gaze. “What?!?”

“I know why Anthony wanted the grimoire.”

Finn’s gaze lost some of its intensity, but he still looked interested. “Why?”

Gage scanned a few lines to confirm before saying, “It’s an immortality spell. That has to be it. Witches can choose to live for a century or two, but none have captured true immortality. Well, I should say that most haven’t. This looks like the real deal.”

“ _Choose_ to live a century or two? I thought that was standard for all witches.”

Gage laughed. “Oh no. It’s usually the black witches who choose that existence. There are certain spells you have to perform to extend your life, so it’s definitely a conscious choice. Most don’t choose it, but a few do.”

Finn raised an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t you?”

“Love.”

“Seriously? Are we talking a soulmate thing?”

“No, of course not. There are all kinds of love. Eros, yes, but also familial and platonic. A lot of people don’t want to outlive their friends and family, you know.”

Finn shrugged. “I suppose.”

“I can see you choosing it.” At Finn’s quizzical looked, Gage continued. “You’re a lone wolf. You aren’t beholden to anyone. If you decided there was a good reason for extending your life, you would.”

“You wouldn’t?”

Gage considered it, then replied slowly. “I am the type of person who does tend to get attached. I wouldn’t want to outlive a loved one. It would be lonely.”

Finn humphed. “I can see that.” He scratched his chin. “So why do you think that was the spell Anthony wanted?”

“Someone as power hungry as he seems would want the ultimate power—the power over death. He’d want to live forever to gain as much magical knowledge as possible.”

Finn nodded. “And I’m assuming this is a difficult spell?”

“Oh yeah. Definitely not for the uninitiated **or** the weak of heart. I know I couldn’t cast it. Of course, I couldn’t cast half of the spells in this book.”

“You’re a great witch.”

Gage smiled at Finn’s uncharacteristically kind words. “I’m more than competent, sure. But in the case of this grimoire, I couldn’t _stomach_ most of these spells. They’re intensely grisly. Lots of sacrifice. _Literal_ sacrifice.”

Finn nodded. “Yeah, I suppose that’s not your style. So, does this illuminate any ways for catching Anthony?”

Gage felt a little warmth at Finn treating him as a fellow hunter, asking his opinion and discussing the nuances of the hunt. He really wanted to live up to Finn’s standards.

“He must definitely be powerful, which we suspected, but it’s good to know for certain. He’s ruthless, for sure. He’ll have a lot of protections in place and a bunch of spells ready to cast as soon as we catch him. Very little will stop the witch’s trap, but we can’t guarantee that he won’t be able to cast at least a few spells while there. The trap does tend to keep magic stuck to the spot it’s trapped in, but it’s possible he knows a way around that.”

“So, can we kill him?”

“I have some ideas, but I want a chance to look through this book before I say for sure.”

“Now who’s withholding information?”

“Seriously? Just because I don’t want to get your hopes up or go off on a hair-brained idea…”

Finn gave him a sour look as Chris entered the room.

“You gentlemen ready for this?”

It turned out that Chris, while not a practicing witch, was a talented symbologist who excelled in tattooing extremely effective protective runes. She came into the room with a binder of protective tats. They discussed a few but decided on two of the tattoos that Finn had—an all-purpose protective tattoo plus an unplottable tattoo that would prevent anyone from doing a magical search for Gage.

Gage had lost his nervousness during the conversation with Finn, but his stomach roiled with a vengeance as Chris brought out the ink and mechanical equipment necessary for tattooing.

Finn must have seen Gage’s apprehension because he covered one of Gage’s hands with his own for a moment. “No worries. You’ll be fine. I’m here.”

Gage started at Finn’s uncharacteristic empathy, but he smiled and relaxed a smidge. He was having a hard time keeping things professional as he quietly fell in love his partner, but he wanted Finn to take him seriously. To see him as someone he could trust and keep as his hunting partner after their current predicament was taken care of. Because, as it turned out, Gage had always subconsciously wanted the life of a hunter. This last year working long-distance with Finn had revealed that. Every time Finn called, Gage longed to be on the front lines with the hunter, working side by side to defeat the bad guys. Now was his chance, if he played his cards right.

Gage’s thoughts were sidelined a few minutes later as Chris brought her equipment up to Gage’s bicep. He inhaled sharply and looked in the opposite direction, which, incidentally, was toward the side of the room Finn occupied. Finn smiled encouragingly and held up the spell book. “So talk me through the witch’s trap.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gage has magical inspiration in the shower. Finn has to pretend to be a bad hunter, then effectively uses magic to get Gage to sleep (crazy, right?. And we finally meet Fe for some sibling bonding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I use a tiny bit of Gaelic in this. I don't speak the language at all, but I'm hoping Google translate isn't being an ass and giving me fake words.

Finn rubbed scratchy eyes and contemplated another slice of pizza while flipping through the grimoire for inspiration. Gage was showering in the bathroom of the hotel room he had splurged on, saying they needed to be on top of their game in order to defeat Anthony. While Finn was used to roughing it and still competently doing his job, he did agree that Anthony was a bigger threat than his usual, so he had caved. That Gage was apparently a cover-stealing bed hog didn’t play into his decision at all. Hah, right.

Suddenly, Finn heard a bump and a yelp from the bathroom, followed by the shower being turned off and frantic rustling. His eyes trained on the bathroom door curiously as he waited for Gage to appear to explain the ruckus. Seconds later, a towel- and shower cap-covered but still dripping Gage yanked open the bathroom door.

Finn smirked at the agitated man. “Spiders in the tub?”

Gage’s brown face, shiny with water, split into a grin. “I’ve got it.”

“What? The answer to life, the universe, and everything?”

Gage rolled his eyes. “Forty-two has been a known quantity for a while, man. No! I know how to ensure we can trap Anthony.” He sucked in a breath and grimaced. “And how to kill him.”

Finn’s breath caught. “And?”

“We start with a modified version of the soul trap we used on that one witch last year, then couple it with the witch’s trap. There’s still a slight chance Anthony could squeeze a spell past it, but highly unlikely.” Gage grinned again. “Especially if I weave a shield charm into the witch’s trap.”

“You can do that?”

“I think so. I’ll need to practice a bit, but shield charms are my specialty. I can invert it so that instead of it rebounding all spells away from the person who is shielded, it won’t let any magic out. This is especially effective, given that we need the killing hex to get through.”

Finn’s eyes widened as Gage explained. “That’s amazing. If that works, I want you to teach it to me. Seems like it could be effective in crippling lots of magical beings.”

Gage sighed and took off his shower cap to scratch his head in frustration. “I’m not even going to argue about letting me work with you— _for now_. We have bigger things to think about. For instance, the killing spell.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I think I can modify the soul-binding spell so that instead of specifically binding the soul, it binds a witch’s magic. Our souls and our magic are closely linked, so I think I can nudge the spell so that it binds the magic rather than the soul. A cleaving spell will then separate Anthony from his magic, then you can….do your hunter thing,” Gage finished, paling a little.

“Killing is part of the job, Gage. If you want to be a hunter, you have to be ready to deal with death.”

Gage nodded. “I know. But killing is less necessary when you have a witch around to help out, right? So this is a special case. Made more extraordinary by the big bad being… someone I loved and respected.”

Finn’s heart constricted. He had once hunted down a hunter-turned-vampire. The woman hadn’t been a friend, but Finn had respected her, and the decision to take her out had been an uneasy one. He could only imagine the hell Gage was going through. He was strong, though, and determined. Finn knew Gage would see this through. He decided to turn away from the morbid talk.

“So you can’t even shower without a hat. Are you ashamed of your head or something?” Finn glanced up at the inch or so of natural hair. It looked fine to him.

Gage managed a small smile. “Shut up. My hair’s annoying to deal with when it gets wet, okay?”

“Whatever. Okay. I think I’ll hit the shower now, unless you need to wash off soap, still?”

Gage’s cheeks darkened as he apparently realized his lack of clothing. “Umm. Just let me go get dressed real quick.” He stood up and power-walked to the bathroom.

Finn chuckled quietly. He loved how easily flustered the witch was. Teasing was so much better when the subject did half the work.

###

Since both Finn and Gage now wore protective tattoos, they had to lure Anthony to them by pretending to be terrible at hiding, which irked Finn’s professional sensibilities to no end. He was a damn good hunter and hated even pretending he couldn’t cover his tracks. They planned while they waited, Gage working out his half-made-up magic and Finn gathering allies and information.

Chris the tattoo artist had offered to let them stay at her place after their night at the hotel. Unfortunately, it was a one-bedroom apartment, so they took turns sleeping on the couch while the other took the floor. Both Gage and Finn were seated on Chris’s couch about a week into their stay when Finn’s phone rang. Seeing Opal, the magic shop owner’s, name on the ID, Finn answered.

“Yeah?” Finn answered, ignoring Gage’s eye roll at his apparent lack of phone etiquette, which Gage had so graciously lectured him on the day before.

“He came into the shop this morning.” Finn grinned. Gage had done his non-magic magic with technology and was tracking Anthony’s cell phone, so they had known when he’d gotten to Akron the day before. However, they couldn’t go on the offensive without Anthony realizing they were luring him in, so they had to sit on their hands until Anthony came to them.

Knowing where Anthony was likely to look, Finn had been planting bait all over the city. A few, like Opal, were in on parts of the plan and were ready to alert Finn if they should encounter Anthony.

“Good. Thanks, Opal.”

Finn heard the jingle of a bell through the line. “Customer. I have to go. I told Anthony what I’d ‘heard’ about you guys, so he’s on the trail. Good luck.”

The call ended, and Finn put his phone down. “He was at Opal’s this morning,” he said to Gage.

Gage’s face froze, but Finn saw a flicker of emotion in his eyes. “The bait?”

Finn nodded. “He’s headed our way.”

“Tell Chris she’d better stay with a friend tonight.”

Finn was already dialing. “On it.”

They knew Anthony would have to make at least two more stops before finding out where they were, and he would likely want to stake out the apartment for a while before confronting them; nevertheless, Finn and Gage stayed tense and wary all afternoon and into the evening. Finn finally called it around 7:30 that evening.

“I’ll take first watch. You get some rest in Chris’s room. We’ll switch in a few hours.”

“Sleep? At a time like this? Are you frakking insane? My muscles feel like iron, I’m so tense. And you want me to sleep?!?”

Finn held back a chuckle at Gage’s incredulity. Hunters learned to sleep when and where they could when they were tracking. If Gage had taken first watch, Finn would’ve been out like a light in ten minutes. He knew the sleep would do Gage good, though, so he was going to force him down.

“Go.”

Gage stared dumbly at him.

“Do I need to brush your teeth for you?”

Gage finally broke eye contact and confusedly turned toward the bathroom for his evening ablutions.

“I won’t be able to sleep, you know,” he called as he turned on the bathroom light.

“Trust me,” Finn replied.

A pajamaed Gage passed through the living room a few minutes later.

“I’m going to just lay there staring at the ceiling for hours.”

“I’ll wake you at midnight.”

Gage sighed and continued toward the bedroom, grumbling quietly.

Finn listened as Gage settled himself on the bed. After some tossing and turning sounds, Finn began to sing quietly.

“Finn? What are you doing?”

Finn ignored him and continued the song, growing louder as he went on.

“Come on. Lullabies won’t work—“ Gage’s already sleepy voice cut off, and he started to snore quietly. Finn shook his head as he sang. The witch was the liveliest sleeper Finn had ever met. He was loud. He was a cuddler. He needed three alarms just to wake up. He would make a terrible hunter. And yet, Finn was growing used to having him around. Someone to bounce ideas off of and to entertain him, even if sometimes the entertainment meant being driven insane with frustration.

If Fe were here, she’d tell him that Gage was good for him. She had long subscribed to the school of thought that no one should cut themselves off so completely from human companionship. She would think that Gage’s social and exuberant nature would complement Finn’s own surly, loner qualities. His thoughts sounded so much like Fe’s that Finn checked to make sure his twin wasn’t actually in his head (as had happened from time to time, them being twin children of a powerful witch). She wasn’t there, so Finn concluded that his guilt over wanting to abandon Gage after they’d finished with Anthony was getting to him, taking the form of his overprotective sister.

His thoughts stayed with Fe as he wound down the sleeping charm he was singing. His mother had used it on them more than once when the twins were too wound up to sleep. It did no harm to the intended “victim,” only quieted their minds and bodies to allow sleep to occur. Finn wondered if Fe used it on her kindergarten class during nap time. Maybe not the full version, but humming a few bars would probably be useful in settling her rambunctious students.

Finn glanced toward his phone, missing his sister so much right then. They didn’t talk too often, but they were still extremely close. He wondered what life would’ve been like if he hadn’t taken up hunting, or if she had stuck with witchcraft. Would they have stayed together? Him in Phoenix with her, or her on the road with him?

Finn’s phone rang and he smiled as he picked it up.

“I miss you too, Finnio,” Fe said without preamble. “Hunt got you stressed?”

Finn sighed and sprawled out on the couch. “It’s definitely not as easy as some of them are.”

“Come visit when you’re done.”

“Ewww. Phoenix?”

“Quit prevaricating. You know you wanna. Plus, Grey has been driving me batty with his motorcycles lately. You can talk to him about motorcycles so I don’t have to.”

“I don’t know anything about motorcycles.”

Fe gave a dramatic sigh. “And you’re worse at pretending to listen than I am. Why do I keep you around?”

“My winning personality.”

“Riiight. So? Come visit?”

“I dunno, sis. This hunt is a little abnormal. I’m not sure what we’re going to do after it’s over. We might head—“

“We?” Trust Fe to latch on to one little pronoun. “You don’t do people. Who is the we?”

“Just a witch. I need help with—“

“Help? First ‘we’ and now ‘help’? Who are you and what have you done with my brother?”

“Fe…”

“If you don’t tell me, you know I’ll just dreamwalk tonight.”

“No!” That wasn’t something Finn could afford. His dreams needed to stay natural, and he needed to sleep with one eye open. Plus, the less details Fe knew, the better. “It’s safer for me to just tell you,” he said, then proceeded to explain his run-in with Anthony and their current situation.

“Whoa,” Fe said after Finn had explained. “So you’ve been working with this witch for a year now and I’m just hearing about it? What’s up with that?”

“I work with witches sometimes.”

“You are _acquainted_ with a few witches that you call on rarely when you are in dire straits. But working with one witch regularly over the course of a year? That’s not you, Finnio.”

Finn shrugged. “I’ve changed.”

“Obviously. And no thoughts of suicide or homicide? From _either_ of you?”

“Hah, very hah, sis. No. We’re both still perfectly sane.”

Finn felt Fe smile. “Good. I’m glad you’re on your way to becoming one of the human race,” she teased, but Finn knew there was some seriousness to her words. Then her emotions shifted—tensed. “So, now that I know my brother hasn’t been switched by body snatchers, tell me about this other guy. Anthony. You know for sure he’s the one who killed Mum?”

“I could feel it, Fe. He’s the one.”

“And you can take him out? While staying relatively safe yourself? I can come out there…”

“I know you would. And if I were on my own, I would have you here in a heartbeat. But Gage is a fantastic witch, and he knows this guy. I think he’s the best person for this job.”

“But what about his emotional state? You said this Anthony was like a father to him. Can he really stand by and watch you kill someone he considers family?”

Finn considered it for a moment. It was the question he’d been asking himself all week. Sure, Gage was apprehensive about the whole situation—as he should be—but the work he’d been doing to prepare for the encounter was encouraging. He’d stayed up late every night and gotten up early every day to hone his spells, read up on archaic magic, and think about the different ways Anthony might approach them. And while there was obvious reluctance for the actual killing, Gage wasn’t skimping on the planning. Finn trusted him to see this through.

“He can do it, Fe. He’s strong, and he’s determined.”

Finn felt his twin nod. They each trusted the other’s instincts. “Be careful. Both of you.”

“We will.”

“Stay focused.”

“We will.”

“Call me if you need me.”

“I will.”

“Finn?”

“Yeah, sis?”

Her voice shook with fury. “Decimate that bastard.”

Finn sent a mental hug through their connection. “I will,” his voice shaking just a much.

“Gráím thú.”

Finn’s heart constricted to hear the Gaelic for ‘I love you.’ Their mother rarely spoke the language, _but a few special phrases just sound better in the mother tongue_ , she used to say.

“Gráím thú,” he replied, hanging up the phone.

By the time Finn woke Gage later that night, there was still no sign of Anthony.

“What the hell did you do to me?” Gage asked, rubbing his eyes clear and sitting up in bed.

“Not much. Just made you more… amenable to sleep,” Finn replied with smirk.

Gage looked at him askance. “Uh huh. You’re teaching me that song.”

“How’s your Gaelic?”

Gage winced. “Probably not good.”

“Then don’t hold your breath,” Finn replied, pulling off his shirt and climbing onto the vacated bed. “It’s not an easy song to learn even when you know the language.”

“Uhhh.”

Finn looked up at Gage with a frown.

“Right. I’ll just be in the living room.” Gage’s face looked a little pinched, worrying Finn. Granted, this wasn’t going to be the easiest night ever, especially for one not used to hunting.

“Okay. Holler if you need me.”

Gage gave a half nod, quickly turned, and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut on the way out.

Finn wished he could calm Gage’s nerves as easily as he had sent him to sleep earlier. He was a good man, and Finn hated seeing him distressed. Now was not the time for wishes, though. It was the time for sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys pass the time with book discussions and tea. Evil returns and is defeated (because of course. You know this story is more about character growth than monster hunting, right?).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for a tiny bit of violence and minor character death (but he's really evil, so it's okay).

Thoughts whirled in Gage’s head, unable to settle. His brain volleyed between fear of Anthony descending on the apartment and lust from seeing a shirtless Finn getting into bed. He shook his head in hopes of freeing the thoughts, but with no luck. Adrenaline left Gage restless, so he paced the living room. He picked up the grimoire from the kitchen bar, but sat it back down without opening it, knowing that there was nothing more he could do to prepare. The trap was set, the prey baited. Now was the time for waiting, not planning.

After pacing for a few more minutes, Gage settled heavily on the couch. He turned his phone to some peaceful piano music and bluetoothed it to Chris’s speakers. Then he picked up the book on the coffee table, noting the marked page, just in case the bookmark fell out. He looked at the cover. _Neverwhere_. He wasn’t much of a reader—movies were more his thing—but even he had heard of Neil Gaiman. He hadn’t pegged Finn for a fantasy nerd, but the guy wasn’t exactly easy to pin down. Gage shrugged and opened the book, hoping it would distract him from thoughts of both the hunter and the witch who had taken over his life.

Gage was still immersed in the book when Finn emerged from the bedroom some time later, sliding a shirt over his head. Gage looked at the clock to distract himself from Finn’s naked chest.

“What are you doing up already? I was supposed to wake you at four.”

Finn shrugged, no trace of sleep on his face. His gravelly voice belied his wakefulness, however. “I had enough sleep.”

“Three hours isn’t enough.”

“For me it is. During a hunt, at least. I tend to crash big after, though.”

Gage eyed Finn suspiciously. “If you say so.”

“I do say. You can nap now, if you want.”

“Nah. I’m in too deep now.” Gage held up the book.

Finn grinned, and Gage’s stomach flipped. He stared at the book instead. “I usually take in fiction via the movie screen, but this is up there with _Hitchhiker’s Guide_ , I think. I mean, not as funny, but just as engaging.”

“If you want funny, I need to hook you up with some Pratchett. Actually, _Good Omens_ might be a good fit for you.” Finn walked toward the kitchen.

“Don’t get carried away now. One book does not a reader make.”

Finn gave a gruff chuckle as he fiddled with the electric kettle. “We’ll try it in audiobook form when we hit the road. It’ll make the drive go faster. Audiobooks and podcasts have been my frequent road companion between hunts. Earl Grey?”

“Yes please. Hit the road? To my family?” Please say no. Please say no.

Finn bit his lip in concentration as he measured out tea leaves into the tea pot. “I was thinking of checking out a vengeful spirit in Michigan, but whatever.”

A grin broke through, but Gage tried to keep his tone light and careless. “That could be fun.”

Finn leaned against the counter and looked at Gage with eyebrows raised. “You have a demented definition of fun, my friend.”

“Fine,” Gage sighed in a mock suffering tone. “ _Interesting_. Is that better?”

“It’ll do. I’ll beat the curiosity out of you soon enough.”

“So… so we can keep hunting together?”

“Better to have you where I can watch out for you than you on your own getting hurt,” Finn replied gruffly.

Gage looked away from Finn’s almost shy eyes. “You’re a smart man, Finnian Donovan.”

“I have my moments.” He plopped down on the sofa next to Gage and grabbed the book from Gage’s hand.”

“Hey!”

“So, where are you?”

“Oh. Umm. They have just crossed the bridge, and Richard has asked about Anaesthesia.” Gage wondered for a moment why Finn was doing this, but ultimately decided to just enjoy this time spent with the man.

Finn nodded and searched the open page. A moment later, he began to speak. “From the darkness at the crown of the bridge came a gentle noise, like a rustle or sigh. A handful of irregular quartz beads…”

###

They had had their tea and read a few chapters by the time Gage’s first security alarm went off. Finn almost dropped the book as little lights like blue fireflies blinked around them. The two men looked at each other. Gage took a deep breath as Finn went back to reading. Could he do this? Could he really trap and kill (or watch be killed) the man who had helped him into adulthood and trained him in advanced spellcraft? The man who supported him during school, helped him get over heartache, and laughed with him over beers. Gage set aside his emotions and hardened his resolve. The man who had murdered innocents, including Finn’s mother, in his selfish quest for immortality. This man was too dangerous to live, so Gage had to watch him die.

A few minutes later, the second alarm went off—green lights. Gage gripped the pillow in his hands as Finn calmly continued to read. Damn, the man had nerves of steel. Gage was a bundle of nerves, and Finn acted like it was just a normal Tuesday. As if sensing Gage’s distress, Finn put his hand on Gage’s leg and squeezed gently as he gave Gage an encouraging smile. It didn’t help, but Gage appreciated it, all the same. Gage was glad he wasn’t doing this alone, and he was also glad Finn wasn’t doing it alone. They needed each other’s skills, yes, but also each other’s support. Gage put his hand on top of Finn’s and smiled back.

Then the door crashed in, and there was chaos.

Finn stood up, as if shocked. “You… how did you find us?” Gage had to give him props. If he didn’t know better, he’d have thought Finn was indeed shocked, instead of acting.

Anthony stalked in the room as Gage darted to the kitchen to stay out of the way. Finn had to lure Anthony under the invisible witch’s trap symbol, which was painted on the far end of the living room ceiling.

“For a hunter, you’re not very good at hiding your tracks.” Gage fought a nervous giggle at Finn’s expression. He knew the hunter hated pretending he sucked at his job. Finn backed toward the wall where the trap lay, and Anthony followed, arm outstretched to pull his signature move. He was ignoring Gage completely, although that was mostly because of the ignoring charm he’d used on himself. He pulled out the bags with the magic-binding and shield charms in them and began walking up behind Anthony. Just a few more feet.

Finn backed to the wall, fake fear covering his face. Anthony stopped and stiffened about two feet away from Finn. Gage heard him hiss in pain. He threw the shield charm to Finn, who quickly stuffed it in Anthony’s shirt pocket.

The man growled. “You think a little witch’s trap can hold me for long? I am much stronger than that.”

The fear slid from Finn’s face as he smirked. “I know.” His eyes slid toward where he knew Gage must be standing, then slid right past Gage as the ignoring charm continued to work. Gage kept whispering the spell he had been chanting since he picked up the bags, finalizing the binding spell. Once he was done, he dropped the bag at Anthony’s feet.

Anthony, who had also been chanting since his last words to Finn, grinned in triumph. Gage felt the witch’s spell weaken, but wasn’t worried. The binding spell would take hold any second. He slid the ignoring charm from around his neck. He needed all of his power to chant the cleaving spell.

Finn kept his eyes on Anthony, watching for signs that he could get free or that he was weakening, whichever came first. Anthony tried to cast a stunning hex at Finn, but it rebounded and hit Anthony instead. Gage smiled. Not only was his shield charm working, but Anthony’s magic was weak. The stun had barely dazed the man. Still, the witch’s trap continued to weaken, and Gage prayed the binding spell would start working soon.

Sure enough, just as Gage thought it, Anthony bellowed. Tendrils of what looked like oily black smoke pulled away from Anthony. They were trapped within the witch’s trap, but the magic was leaving its host.

“How did you…?” Anthony asked in surprise, laced with pain.

Gage couldn’t hold back any more. “How could you, Anthony? I thought you were a good man.” He tried unsuccessfully to keep the pain out of his voice.

Anthony whirled around. “There you are. I thought maybe you’d run, letting the hunter do the dirty work.” His face was like nothing Gage had seen. Gone was the friendly man who had run the magic shop. In his place stood a maniacal witch, corrupted by dark magic. How had he hidden it for so long? Dark magic usually showed, especially to other witches. Gage shook himself as the binding spell completed. He gave a nod to Finn, then looked back at Anthony.

“I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not. You’re not who I thought you were.”

“You were weak. That’s why I kept you around. I knew you’d never recognize—“ Anthony cut off as Finn sliced his throat with a large knife. Gage whimpered, but refused to look away. Anthony dropped to the ground, dead instantly. Gage allowed himself to turn his head. He heard a rustle, then felt a hand on his arm. Gage looked at Finn.

“You did good,” Finn said, sympathy in his eyes.

Gage pulled him into a hug, his need for comfort greater than his usual respect for Finn’s boundaries. Finn just sighed and put his arms around Gage, letting Gage’s tears soak his shirt. After the tears had subsided, Finn walked Gage back to the couch and sat him down gently, Finn going to kneel in front of him.

“Are you okay?” Finn asked, concern V-ing his brow.

Gage took a wobbly breath and looked at Anthony’s body. “I…” He didn’t know what he felt. He’d had weeks to come to terms with the fact that Anthony was not the man he had thought. He had grieved. He thought he felt relief, but it was hard to tell. He mostly felt numb now. Finn began to sing in Gaelic, and this time Gage recognized it for the magic it was. He thought about fighting it, but he was exhausted, so he let the pleasant feeling of sleep overtake him as Finn pushed him into a reclining position.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn reveals his hatred of eggs, the boys hit the road, and Gage learns about Fe. Finn is an idiot (color you surprised, right?).

As Gage slept, Finn cleaned. With enough concentration, he was able to use a few simple spells to remove the blood from the rug. Anthony’s body was now a pile of dust, thanks to a charm Gage had given Finn earlier. With the body gone, the magic had dissipated to again become one with the earth. Finn tried not to picture the oily mass roiling through the air, infecting people. Gage had insisted that magic alone was neither good nor evil, only corrupted by the way people used it. Once cleaved from the magic user, it would return to its neutral state for the next magic user to pull from. Finn still shuddered a bit as he walked through the area where the magic had hung. He grabbed a spray bottle from the counter and sprayed it on the ceiling where the witch’s trap was invisibly painted. Salt water would neutralize it, making it safe for other witches to cross.

After he was done with his cleanup, he sat in the chair next to Gage’s sleeping form. Although he wanted nothing more than to sleep himself, he pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed Fe.

“It’s done?” she asked.

“Yes,” Finn replied, sighing and leaning back in his chair. “He’s gone.” Finn choked back a sob of relief and pain. His mother was avenged, another murderer had been ended. He felt his twin’s emotions, and they were the same as his.

“Good.” Fe’s voice shook, but also bit back tears. There would be crying from both of them later, but if they cried now, they could develop a feedback loop of pain, and that was dangerous. So instead, Finn hung up the phone, tried to reattach the apartment door as best he could, then stumbled to the bedroom to sleep.

###

He awoke to the smell of waffles and the sound of voices. As always, Finn came to immediate alertness. Everything seemed in order, so he made a detour to the bathroom, then followed the smell to the kitchen area, wrinkling his nose when he whiffed eggs. Gage and Chris sat at the bar, empty plates and mugs in front of them. Gage still looked drained, but his countenance brightened a bit when he saw Finn.

“You really do crash after a hunt.”

Finn gave him a grim smile.

A moment later, Gage pushed a fresh mug of tea into his hands and guided him to the stool Gage has recently occupied. “I’m guessing that massive calorie intake is also a usual for you?”

“I wouldn’t say no to waffles.”

“Eggs?”

Finn made a face.

“No eggs. Got it.”

Chris laughed. “Our friend here has a weird thing about eating baby chickens. I remember when I took him to Denny’s. I thought he was going to hurl on my plate.” She nudged Finn, then rose from her barstool. “Thanks for the broken door, by the way. My super is going to kill me.”

Gage looked apologetic as he placed a plated waffle in front of Finn. “I’m sorry. I should be able to fix it.” He glanced at the torn frame. “Sort of.”

Chris waved her hand. “I’ll tell him it was a break-in. It wouldn’t be the first time some idiot had inflicted damage on this building.”

“We’ll pay—“ Finn began.

“I was just messing with you. It’s no big deal, really.” Chris walked to the fridge, pouring herself some orange juice. “I’m just glad you two are okay. And that the bastard can’t hurt anyone else. She waved Gage to her empty seat. “Do you guys want to talk about it?”

Finn and Gage exchanged looks.

“Not really,” Gage finally replied, looking a little green at the gills.

Chris shrugged. “I probably wouldn’t either, but I figured I should check. You’d be surprised at how many people pour their hearts out to tattoo artists. I’m getting pretty good at counseling…”

Finn smiled. “You should add that to the store sign. You could charge twice as much.”

“You may be on to something. So, what now?”

Finn looked at Gage. “Vengeful spirit?”

Gage looked relieved. “Yes, please.”

###

Chris insisted they stay another day to recharge, then they took their leave, Gage promising to keep in touch. Finn just shook his head in exasperation. They were going to build up quite the Rolodex with Gage making friends at every port. After the vengeful spirit, they took on an arachne in Illinois, followed by a capra demon in Wisconsin. By then, they had developed a routine. Gage worked on charms and herb gathering during their downtime, which he then sold to any hunters or humans they came across who were interested, then he began selling to magic shops. He had a gift for strong, stable charms, and his ability to find herbs growing in the wild even in late fall was uncanny.

Finn had gotten used to having Gage around when Fe called.

“Can I tempt you with a buruburu?”

“Good morning to you, too, sis,” Finn replied as he gathered snacks at a gas station while Gage cleaned the car window outside.

“I really don’t think you can shame me. Your manners are worse than mine.”

“I’m just trying to make sure you stay human. One grouch in the family is enough.”

“Hah! Agreed. So, good morning, dearest brother. Can I interest you in a buruburu?”

“You’re just trying to trick me into coming home for Yule.”

“You caught me. Although, there is a buruburu causing trouble. Two birds, one stone I say.”

Finn sighed.

“Don’t be a stick in the mud, Finnio. It’s almost winter, so you can’t use the heat as an excuse. I’m about to go on winter break, so I could use a distraction. It’s been almost two years. Come home.”

The longing in Fe’s voice decided Finn. He wanted to see his sister, too. “A buruburu sounds good. Just no carol singing, okay?”

Finn felt his sister’s delight. “Good! Oh,” she added not at all casually. “Is Gage still with you?”

“Yes,” Finn replied cautiously.

“He’ll be coming with you, won’t he? Or is he going to see his family for the holidays?”

“We hadn’t discussed it.”

“Of course you haven’t. Well, I’d love to meet the man who is keeping my brother safe, so he’s more than welcome to come with.”

Right. He’d just have to explain to Gage why he hadn’t mentioned a sister in all the time they’d known each other. No problem there…

“I’ll let you know.” Gage stared through the store glass, looking to see what was taking Finn so long. “Look, I gotta go. I’ll call when I’m getting close.”

“See you soon.” Finn ended the call, paid for the snacks, then headed back to the car. Gage’s frown cleared as Finn walked out the store door.

“Thought you’d been kidnapped by demons.”

“Nah, just couldn’t decide between Twizzlers and Starbursts.”

“Starbursts suck.”

Finn grinned as they settled into their usual banter. It really was nice having someone to help pass the time. And magic that actually worked were a bonus.

He waited until they’d been on the road a few minutes before broaching the subject of their next destination. “I got word of a buruburu in Phoenix. Of course,” he hurried on, “I realize the holidays are almost here, so if you want to go visit your family, I can probably take the ghost on myself. I’ve dealt with one before.”

“Didn’t you grow up near Phoenix?” Gage asked, glancing up from the road as he drove.

“Uh, yeah, Sedona is just a couple of hours north of Phoenix.”

“Awww, can I see where little Finn went to school?” Gage teased.

“No.”

Gage chuckled. “Going home is tempting, but I’m not sure I want to spend money on a plane ticket or rental car. This hunter living kinda sucks.”

Finn tamped down his automatic reaction to tell Gage he could quit any time. He didn’t like it when Gage got upset with him. Plus, Gage knew he could quit. He didn’t need Finn reminding him for the hundredth time.

“Okay then. To Phoenix.” Finn pulled up his map app and input Fe’s address. “Looks like it’s a twenty-three-hour drive from here.”

Gage handed his phone to Finn. “I just downloaded _Wee Free Men_ from the library. Go ahead and queue it up.”

Finn laughed, but did as Gage requested. Gage had become obsessed with the Discworld books ever since Finn had forced him to listen to _Mort_ on their first road trip. Not that Finn was complaining. “I actually haven’t read that one, so good choice.”

Anything to avoid telling Gage about his sister, right? Finn wasn’t sure why he had avoided the subject for so long. It wasn’t as if he was ashamed. He guessed it started off with the usual instinct to keep his sister out of the hunter life—he never told anyone about her. And after he and Gage had been traveling together for a while, it never occurred to Finn to share that part of himself with his new friend. And now guilt kept him from talking about it, though he’d have to tell Gage soon. They’d be to Phoenix in a few days. Until then, though, Finn pushed the guilt aside and tried to concentrate on the audiobook.

###

They drove into Phoenix three days later, and Finn directed the car toward Fe and her boyfriend Grey’s house.

“Are we actually staying in a hotel this time?” Gage asked incredulously. He had grown accustomed to Finn’s habit of bedding down at campsites or random fields outside of the towns they went to.

“Ummm, a house actually.”

“Oh, you have friends here? Childhood friends?” Gage asked hopefully. He’d been trying to get Finn to talk about his childhood ever since he found out they were heading to Arizona, but Finn had kept things vague. Now the truth had to come out, though.

“Actually…we’re going to stay with my sister and her boyfriend.” Finn braced himself for Gage’s anger, but all he got was silence. He chanced a look at his passenger and, instead of anger, Finn saw hurt. His stomach clenched. He wished Gage were angry. Anger Finn could deal with, but he hated to hurt his friend.

“Oh.”

“Look, Gage, I didn’t mean to hide her from you. I never tell people about Fe. I want to keep her out of this life.”

“I’m not people, Finn, I’m your friend and your hunting partner.”

Finn swallowed frustration and guilt. “Not in the beginning.”

“But you’ve had plenty of chances since then. You know all about my family. You could have brought her up then.”

“I know. It’s just…”

“Maybe I should’ve gone to see my family,” Gage cut in. “At least then I could’ve been with people who trusted me.”

He sat in silence for the rest of the drive through the city, Finn’s apologies falling on deaf ears. Finn could feel the growing resentment roiling around the witch as he pulled onto Fe’s street, and he wondered if high emotions could explode into physical magic. He swore he could feel actual electricity in the air. He jumped out of the car as soon as he parked it, a little worried for his own health.

Fe sat on the porch with a book and a mug. Her bright smile dimmed a little, as if she too felt the tension. She put her book down, stood up, and ran to Finn. In moments, his face was full of curly black hair and his arms full of exuberant twin.

“Took you long enough, Finnio,” she exclaimed as Finn dropped her back to the ground. She turned to Gage as the man walked over to them. “Gage! I’m so glad you could make it. I’ve been dying to meet the man who finally got my twin to break his hermitic vow.” She pulled the big man into a hug, her head not even reaching the witch’s shoulders.

Gage’s glare over her head clearly said “Oh, so I was the only one in the dark, huh?” _Twin?_ He mouthed silently before schooling his features into a mostly genuine smile by the time Fe pulled back. “I couldn’t turn down the chance to meet the person who share’s Finn’s genes. Its curiosity, you see. Is grouchiness inheritable?”

Fe laughed. “Oh, I see how it is. Finn was always attracted to sarcasm and wit.” She winked at Gage. “Can I help you guys carry stuff in? I’ve got the guest room all set up.”

Finn tried to draw Gage out. “Damn, and here I thought I was going to get away from your snoring and weird banjo alarm,” he teased weakly as he grabbed bags, handing one to Fe.

Gage just stared at him. “Guess you’ll just have to deal,” he replied, grabbing bags and heading for the house.

Finn felt a tendril of recrimination from Fe and knew he was in for a lecture.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gage meets Fe, and they discuss the idiot they both love. Then Gage meets Grey, and they discuss non-traditional families. Finn overhears and learns something he probably would've figured out earlier if he was more observant. Gage feels bad (though really he shouldn't). AND (wow, lots of info in this chapter--it's the longest in this story) Gage and Grey discuss sexual orientations and feelings.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the discussion on asexuality is a little info dumpy. I never know how to organically include it in my stories, since (1) not a lot of people (in real life, at least) know much about it and (2) it's a different experience for everyone. I'm hoping it's not too boring!

The guest room was obviously decorated to sooth and relax its inhabitants, but Gage was full of hurt and anger. He sat on the bed, trying to calm down enough to join Fe and Finn in the living room, but it wasn’t working. How could Finn be so hurtful? Hadn’t Gage shown plenty of reasons for Finn to trust him? He had thought them friends, but had obviously been mistaken. Finn apparently just saw Gage as an asset, something that could help him do his job better.

Gage shook his head. He had fooled himself into thinking that, even if the hunter would never fall in love with him, he must at least have platonic feelings for Gage. They bantered and teased each other, they worked so well together, and the silences between them were comfortable and warm. But apparently Gage had just been projecting his own feelings onto the hunter.

Maybe he should leave. He could find a shop to work in, save his money to start one of his own, or see what had happened to Anthony’s old store. The thought perked him up a bit. The memories would be difficult at first, but the idea of going home was appealing. He loved hunting, but he wasn’t sure he could stay with Finn anymore. Gage pulled out his phone, staring at it for a moment before calling one of Anthony’s friends.

“I can’t believe you’re alive,” Jimmy exclaimed when Gage identified himself. “You went missing the same time Anthony did, and we feared the worst. Then rumors spread, saying Anthony went dark and a witch and hunter took him down. I hoped you had made it, but worried you were Anthony’s first victim.”

Gage heard the pain in Jimmy’s voice. Gage had had time to deal with Anthony’s malevolence some time before his death, and then had watched him die, but Anthony’s friends must have learned about it all at once. It must have been quite the shock. And with Gage’s disappearance on top of that.

“I’m fine. I was actually the witch.”

“Oh, hell. I’m sorry, Gage.”

“It’s okay. I did what I had to do, and the world is safer for it.”

“Still, I can’t imagine…”

“I actually had a question for you, Jimmy,” Gage cut him off, not wanting to rehash old memories.

Jimmy was telling Gage about Anthony’s lawyer trying to get a hold of Gage when Gage heard Fe’s raised voice. “I have to go, Jimmy. Have the lawyer email me.” He rattled off his address and then hung up the phone.

He opened the bedroom door a crack to eavesdrop.

“That wasn’t fair of you, Finnian! I was so proud of you for finally allowing someone to help you, and then you had to go and be a right bastard again.”

“I was trying to protect you, Fe. I know you don’t want to be a part of this world.”

“But that doesn’t mean you keep me a secret from your friend. You do know what a friend is, right? Trust? Companionship? Loyalty? Ringing any bells at all?”

“I’m not used to—“

“Do not give me that bull crap, Finnian. You may not have many friends, but you do know how to respect someone.”

“I know.” Finn sighed. “The minute I told him about you, I knew how wrong I had been. Gods, Fe, the hurt on his face nearly tore me in two.” Gage heard the ragged edge in Finn’s tone. It broke his own heart a little.

“Good,” Fe replied, but her tone had softened. “Friendship is give and take, and sometimes what you take is pain.”

“And what I give….”

“Indeed.” Gage heard a rustle. “I’m going to the store. Want anything in particular for dinner? Grey has a curry he’s been perfecting. He thought you might like it.”

“Curry sounds good, sis,” Finn said, sounding depleted.

Gage heard someone walking toward the hallway and tried to ease the bedroom door shut again, but Fe’s voice stopped him.

“Hey, Gage?” she asked.

He reopened the door and looked at the woman who looked so much like the man who had hurt him. They were both on the short side with pale skin and black hair, and their facial features were similar. Fe, however, was curvy where Finn was wiry, and her hair was curly where Finn’s was wild but straight. Gage was glad she had green eyes. He didn’t know if he could look into another pair of grey eyes without pain.

“What’s up, Fe? Is it okay if I call you, Fe?” Gage hesitated a moment. “I actually don’t know your name.”

Fe smiled sadly. “Fiona, but you can call me Fe.”

“Okay, Fe. What can I do for you?” Gage did not feel like being civil, but knew lashing out at Finn’s twin (twin! Even more secrets) was not a good idea.

“I need to go grocery shopping and hoped you’d come with. I want to make sure I get food you like. Plus, I wanted to check in with you about Yule rituals, for tomorrow. I want you to feel at home while you’re here.” Fe looked hopeful.

“Oh. Umm, okay. Sure,” Gage agreed reluctantly. He followed Fe down the hall and studiously ignored the living room where Finn likely sat, moping.

Fe grabbed a jacket from the rack by the door. “Don’t you need a coat?” she asked as they walked to the garage.

A laugh slipped out. “I’m from New England. This is not even close to cold.”

“I don’t know how you do it. The year I spent in Ireland, I thought I’d never be warm again,” Fe exclaimed, sliding into the driver’s seat of her car.

Gage’s almost good mood vanished. “Oh yes, you would’ve been with him there, wouldn’t you?”

Fe sighed as she drove down the street. “I’m sorry. It was wrong of him to—“

“You don’t have to apologize for your brother being a jackass. It’s not your fault.”

“If I had forced him to stay in touch more…”

“You’re not close?”

Fe wobbled a hand back and forth. “Yes and no. Emotionally and mentally, we’re very close. Beyond the normal twin bond even. Something to do with magic in the family, I assume. But he hasn’t visited in two years, and except for recently, we hardly ever talked on the phone. This business with your old boss hit him hard, I think. He’s called several times in the past few months.”

“Oh.”

“You have to understand that we processed Mum’s death differently. I ran from the magic world, blaming it for her death, but I accepted her death and worked through it. Finn, on the other hand, ran to hunting as quickly as he could, but his emotions got stuck on vengeance. Not only did he put all of his focus on finding her killer, but he left no room for people in his life. I didn’t hear from him for the first three years after he hit the road.” Fe sucked in a breath, obviously working through difficult memories. “Only our bond kept me from believing he was dead.”

“Fucking bastard.”

Fe chuckled mirthlessly. “Tell me about it. But then, one day, he had a really hard hunt that brought up the memories, and he called me. I’ve forced him to keep in touch since then, and he finally warmed to Grey the last time he was in town.”

“Grey is your boyfriend?”

Fe smiled softly. “Yup. We’ve been together since college.”

“And Finn has only just gotten used to him? I have no chance, do I?”

“Of course you do! Believe it or not, Finn is way more open with you than I ever believed possible.”

“How do you know? You haven’t seen us interact longer than 30 seconds.”

“It’s the way he talks about you.”

“He talks about me?” Gage tried not to let the thought warm him. He was still pissed, damn it.

“I was floored when he described you the first time, when you were hunting for your boss. I could tell right away that he respected you a lot. The way he talked about your intelligence and strength. I’ve never heard him talk about another person like that. And then there’s the fact that you’re still with him. Finn doesn’t do partnerships. He has some acquaintances, but no one he trusts to really have his back. Even the hunter who trained him never really got close to him.”

Gage snorted. “Now why is that not surprising? I feel for the guy.”

“But don’t you see, Gage? You’re different. You’re the first friend he’s had in over a decade. It may not seem like it, but I know he cares about you. Something about you has made him drop his defenses just a little bit. Give him time, and he’ll become the most loyal friend you have.”

Gage considered Fe’s words. He wanted to believe her. He didn’t want to let Finn go. The man was tough and resourceful. He helped so many people and asked for nothing in return. He had a great taste in books. In point of fact, he was the perfect man for Gage.

Gage smiled wryly to himself. Even if he decided to stay on with Finn, he might always yearn for more. Before this incident, he had decided that he was fully in love with the hunter, which made the hurt go that much deeper. Gage had still apparently projected some of his feelings onto Finn, thinking he might return them just a little bit. There was Finn’s random bouts of shyness toward Gage. And the way Gage would sometimes catch Finn staring at him, causing Finn to blush when he realized Gage had caught him. But Gage had been wrong. Finn wouldn’t have kept secrets from someone he had true feelings for. Nope, this again was just Gage’s overactive imagination and hope at play.

As if reading his thoughts, Fe continued. “I don’t think Finn has really experienced intimacy outside of the familial kind, not especially since he became an adult. He had friends as a kid, but no best friends. And he didn’t date, although he did have a huge crush on this girl our junior year….” She trailed off in thought. “And he’s not talked about anyone since becoming a hunter, besides you.” Fe looked over at Gage as she parked in the grocery store parking lot. “My brother is definitely an assface, and I think it’s good for him to squirm for a bit. He needs to understand and learn from his mistakes, but ultimately I don’t see the harm in forgiving him. But that’s just my two cents. You do whatever feels right for you.”

“Thank you, Fiona. I appreciate your point of view, and will definitely take your advice into account.”

“That’s all I ask.” She brightened. “And now, let’s buy some food.”

###

They arrived back at the house several hours later, heavily laden with ingredients for several meals, wassail, and a few desserts. Gage learned that while Grey did most of the meal cooking, Fe loved to bake desserts and experiment with cocktail ideas. They discussed Yule traditions, since each family celebrated the winter solstice a little differently, especially with their magic coming from different cultural traditions. They had the blessing of the yule log in common and, of course, there was always food. But the foods were different, as were the yule ceremonies themselves. Through texting with Grey, they had agreed upon food items to satisfy everyone, and had come up with a pretty good ceremony for the next evening.

Gage was in a pretty good mood by the time they walked through the door with grocery bags. He stopped short when he saw Finn spooning brown sugar into his tea at the kitchen counter. Finn looked at him hopefully. Gage looked away, lest he let those soulful grey eyes get to him. Instead, he sat the bags down on the counter and headed back to the garage for more. He could feel Finn’s eyes on him as he walked out, but he refused to turn around.

He would likely forgive Finn—he wasn’t the type to hold grudges—but like Fe had said, it would do Finn good to squirm for a while. Plus, Gage needed time to decide whether he would stay with Finn after the holidays.

Grey came home soon after, having spent the afternoon at his friend’s garage working on his motorcycle. Fe rolled her eyes as she wiped a grease smudge from Grey’s neck, but her face was full of love as she greeted him.

Gage helped Grey make dinner, both to let the siblings have some alone time and give himself time to get to know the man better. Grey Peña, Gage learned, was from LA.

“I hated it there. Too crowded. Too fake. But, I love the heat, so I came here for college, met Fe, and never left,” Grey explained as he simmered curry sauce with vegetables on the stove while Gage browned some chicken.

“What’s your degree in?”

“Doubled in education and math. I teach high school algebra and pre-calculus.”

“Yikes.”

“Is that for the high school part or the math part?”

“Both.”

Grey laughed. “It’s exhausting, but a lot of fun, actually. It’s amazing seeing the light bulb go on in the students’ heads. And figuring out different ways to teach it to different learning styles. It keeps me on my toes.”

Gage saw the passion in the man’s eyes. “That’s really cool. It’s hard to find teachers who actually care about getting the ideas across to the kids, not just teaching to the test.”

Grey groaned. “Don’t get me started. I could go on for hours…”

“Maybe some other time,” Gage retorted. “So, what was it like, learning about Fe’s family? Or do you come from a magical family, too?”

“Oh God, no. That was a jolt to my sensibilities. I come from a very pragmatic family. Dad teaches particle physics at UCLA and Pop is an architect for an engineering firm. Learning that magic and lots of related creatures actually exist…. Yeah, that was not easy for this Catholic boy.”

“I imagine that took some getting used to, yeah. So, Pop. Would that be father or grandfather?” Gage tried to ask casually. He hadn’t mentioned to Finn in so many words that he was gay, knowing how hunters tended to react, though the man had to have figured it out in the months they’d been traveling together.

“Father. Mom died when I was six. Dad is bisexual, so next time he fell in love, it was with Pop.” Grey shrugged. “I guess both Fe and I grew up a bit non-traditional, but neither of us has had real trouble adjusting. Now we’re just your normal, American, common-law family,” Grey noted with a wink.

“I’m pretty sure that there’s no such thing as normal American family anymore. Or, at least, the traditional ideas flew out the window a while ago. Hell, I was raised with my cousin by my grandmother and aunt. And I’m gay myself.” Gage said, busying himself with dumping the chicken into the pot of curry when Grey motioned him over.

“You never told me that,” came Finn’s shocked voice from the other end of the kitchen.

Gage froze, then turned slowly. “I flirted with you the day we met.”

Finn wrinkled his brow. “You did?”

“Okay, maybe it was a bit subtle, but yeah. And I know you’ve seen me ogling guys more than once.

“No I hav—“ Finn’s eyes glazed over like he was remembering. “Oh. But still, it’s a bit of the pot calling the kettle black. You should’ve said something.”

“My sex life is private.”

“So is my family.”

They glared at each other for a bit, before Grey broke through the moment with a stack of plates and silverware.

“Go set the table, Finn. Gage, pull the naan out of the pantry and put it in the oven.” He stared at them with his Teacher Stare until Finn and Gage did as they were told.

Dinner was a tense affair, with Fe and Grey giving up on engaging Finn and Gage in conversation after three minutes of one-sentence answers. Instead they caught each other up on their respective days and let the other two stew in silence.

Fe and Finn cleaned up after dinner while Grey showed Gage his motorcycle. Fe called them both back into the house soon after. “I want to go over tomorrow’s solstice plans,” she mentioned as they walked through the kitchen to the family room.

Finn smoldered on the couch with a mug of something steaming and fragrant.

“Cider?” Fe offered as Gage sat as far from Finn as he could get, while Grey settled next to his brother-in-law with his own mug.

“Please,” Gage answered gratefully. Maybe the alcohol would calm him a bit.

Once everyone got comfortable, Fe began. “Grey and I will be picking up our yule log tomorrow after breakfast. You’re both welcome to come with, of course,” she said to Finn and Gage.

“I need to start tracking that buruburu first thing,” Finn said from his pouting corner, and Gage rolled his eyes.

“Yes, _we’ll_ be busy with that most of the day, I’m sure,” Gage added.

“I’ll do it myself,” Finn replied.

“Yeah, because it’s safe to face a buruburu alone. Real smart, Finnian.”

“I’ve stayed alive through a decade of hunting on my own. I think I can do it again.”

“It’s. Not. Safe. I’m going with you.”

“That’s enough, you two,” Fe said in her Teacher Voice. “Grey and I will take care of the log; you _both_ will take care of the buruburu. We’ll be lighting the log at eight tomorrow evening, and feasting after.” Fe stood up, pointing at Finn as she walked toward him. “You fucking mess this up, and you will not set foot in this house again, Finnian Donovan.” She stalked out of the room.

“Yule was Mum’s favorite holiday,” Finn said in a low voice.

Grey made to stand. “I’ll see if she’s—“

“Let me,” Finn interrupted. “I need to… apologize,” he said, looking at Gage briefly before fleeing the room after his twin.

“I’m sorry,” Gage said to Grey, doing his own apologizing. “You two shouldn’t have to be in the middle of this. Maybe I should leave.”

“Stay,” Grey argued. “Fe has wanted to meet you for a while now. Plus, she can’t stand to see people fighting. She’ll not let this bone go until you and Finn are friends again.”

“Friends. Such a simple word for such a complicated situation,” Gage mused.

“Stop me if I’m being too intrusive,” Grey began, and Gage knew where this was going.

“It’s one-sided,” Gage said bitterly. “I was an idiot to ever think it could be more. You saw Finn’s shock when he heard me say that I’m gay.”

“Yes, exactly. Shock. I saw his face when he accused you of _not telling him_. I speak from the experience of having two dads. I know ‘this changes everything completely’ shock when I see it.”

“So all of a sudden Finn is gay? Or at least bi? I’ve never seen him check out any guys, let alone me.”

“I don’t think it’s as simple as that. Have you seen Finn check out anyone? Ever?”

Gage’s thoughts stuttered. Had he? He wracked his brain, but came up empty. “He’s a focused guy. And serious.”

“So is Fe, especially back in college, but I still saw her interest the minute we met.”

“Hunters don’t do relationships.”

“But they do one-night-stands. Has Finn ever taken anyone up on that?”

“Nooo….”

Grey listened for a moment, to make sure the twins were still occupied in the back room. After he heard their voices, he continued.

“I’ve mentioned some observations to Fe, and she agrees that I could be correct. I’ve taken Finn out to bars a few times, and I’ve never seen him even glance at another person. I get that he’s introverted, but I’ve got some pretty shy friends who nonetheless will have their heads turned by a pretty face or nice body. And all Fe can offer up is one crush he had in high school. Which, as you know, can be faked pretty easily to take the pressure off of a confused teen, right?”

Gage nodded weakly. “What are you saying?”

“I don’t think Finn experiences sexual attraction.”

“What?”

“He might be asexual—someone who is not sexually attracted to other people. Just like I’m not attracted to men and you’re not attracted to women, he’s not attracted to anyone.”

“So he’d never fall in love with me anyway?” Gage’s stomach clenched. Even though he’d already settled with the idea of being only Finn’s friend—if they lived through this current fight—a little part of him had hoped that someday Finn could return Gage’s affections. But Gage felt the bubble pop.

“Not necessarily. Granted, I don’t know much—I came across the term when I was researching a paper on sexual orientation in college; though I admit I looked into it a little more once I had my suspicions about Finn—but I do know that the idea is simple. Asexuals don’t feel sexual attraction, but that doesn’t preclude them from developing romantic feelings for someone. And just like sexual attraction, romantic attraction can be hetero, homo, or bi. And some are aromantic as well as asexual, while others have been known to feel sexual attraction in certain situations. It’s all very subjective. Hell, the community itself even says that it’s all self-diagnosed. I can’t really say that Finn is for sure asexual. Only he can decide that for himself.” Grey paused. “But I have my suspicions. I know what I’ve observed.

Gage took off his beanie and ran his hand over his hair. What the hell? Asexual? Some of what Grey said made sense, but it still threw him for a loop. He needed to process.

“I think… I’m going… to bed now….” Gage said slowly, standing up.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to freak you out. I just wanted to let you know the possibilities. I don’t think Finn has ever really thought about it, so I’m not sure how aware he is.”

“Right. No. Yeah. Umm, thanks for telling me.”

Gage wasn’t sure how thankful he really was. Right now he was just confused.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The eating of baby chickens is barely avoided, the boys make amends while hunting the buruburu, and everyone gets ready for Yule.

The twin bed on the other side of the room was empty when Finn awoke the next morning. Gage had either been already asleep or doing a really good job of faking his particular snores when Finn had crawled into bed late last night. After talking about Mum and Anthony with Fe for several hours, Finn had joined Grey in the kitchen for a beer or four, which he was now regretting as his pounding head scolded him for moving. He and Gage didn’t drink much, seeing as alcohol cost money, so Finn was quite the lightweight. It had felt good at the time, but he knew it’d be a while before he imbibed heavily again.

After ten minutes of a hammer splitting open his skull, Finn forced his body to zombie walk to the bathroom for a shower and a long drink of water (which chased down a handful of aspirin), after which he felt human enough to brave the kitchen. Strangely enough, hangovers never involved nausea for Finn, only headaches and the feeling that he’d been beaten up by 600-pound chirago demon, so at least he wouldn’t upchuck the breakfast he needed for the coming day’s work.

Grey took one look at him and nodded to a pot of tea. “Coffee pu’er. The caffeine will help.”

“Ergh.”

Finn sat down across the table from Gage and slopped three spoonfuls of brown sugar in his mug. Finn was pretty sure the look of disgust was due to Gage’s aversion to sweet tea rather than Finn’s hungover face or Finn himself. He nodded at Gage and slumped over his mug, inhaling the sweet, earthy scent.

“Happy Yule, guys,” Grey called much too cheerily, sailing in with two plates. “Cinnamon swirl pancakes and huevos rancheros for everyone.”

“Awww, crap,” Finn heard Fe say as she walked in the front door. “I forgot to tell you—“

Gage grabbed the plate that Grey was about to settle in front of Finn. “No eggs for us, please. Extra meat instead.”

Grey pulled back both plates in confusion. “Okay.” He walked back to the kitchen, and Finn heard his sister explaining Finn’s egg aversion.

Finn took a quick glance at Gage, then back down at his mug. “You can eat eggs, you know. I won’t actually hurl, no matter what Chris says.”

“I don’t know. I’ve seen you pretty green-looking when eggs were around. Plus, you look terrible already.”

“Thanks.” Though the word was dripping with sarcasm, Gage gave Finn a small smile in return.

They let the awkward silence rustle around until Grey returned with two eggless plates.

“Take two. Cinnamon swirl pancakes, with an extra side of chorizo.”

Both men had dug well into their breakfast when Fe and Grey joined them.

“Sorry, bro, I forgot that Grey hasn’t ever fed you breakfast, so I didn’t think to warn him.”

“No worries, sis, Gage came to the rescue.” Finn chanced a shy smile at the witch. Gage stared at him in confusion, causing Finn’s stomach to drop.

Finn hadn’t given it too much thought until about two beers into last night, but Gage’s reveal about his sexual orientation had knocked everything around its axis. When it had settled, Finn had realized that maybe he had been harboring feelings for his friend for a while. He still wasn’t sure, but he had noticed he was a bit possessive of the man. Even having his much more fun (and completely in-love) sister take Gage out yesterday had caused a pang of jealousy in Finn that he hadn’t understood. But now he wondered. He knew he cared more deeply for Gage than he did anyone else besides Fe. But then again, he hadn’t spent much time around anyone else, so maybe it was just some weird form of Stockholm syndrome?

It was all very confusing, made worse by the fact that Finn had never taken the time to have any relationships. And the idea of having sex with someone he didn’t know was not appealing, so he wasn’t really even sure of his own gender preference. He had assumed female, because that was the default in his world, but he couldn’t remember ever specifically figuring that out for himself.

But still, now that the seed was planted, it wasn’t easily dug up. Assuming Gage ever forgave Finn for keeping Fe a secret, Finn was intrigued with the idea of seeing where the feelings went, now that he knew they might be there. But what if Gage wasn’t interested? He said he had lightly flirted with Finn when they first met (not that Finn had any idea of what he meant by that), but what if his feelings had stopped at friendship once Gage had gotten to know Finn better? Just because he found Finn good looking didn’t mean a fig once personalities and chemistry came into play.

Finn glanced up again to see Gage still contemplating him as he slowly chewed his breakfast. Finn flushed a little and tuned into Fe and Grey’s conversation.

“It was a gorgeous morning for it. And the crowd was good.”

“Good for what?” Finn asked.

Fe rolled her eyes. “So glad you’re interested in what’s going on in my life, Finnio. Sunrise yule service. Just like with Mum, morning is community time, evening is family time. And I’m nice enough not to drag poor Grey along. Am I an awesome girlfriend or what?”

Grey bussed her cheek. “The best. And you can be an even more awesome girlfriend by helping me clean up the kitchen so I can then be an awesome boyfriend and go run errands with you.”

“I’ll clean up,” offered Gage. “You guys should get going, and Finn needs to finish getting dressed. I’m the only one who’s not needing to do something right now.”

After some half-hearted protests, Fe and Grey headed out to run errands. Finn tried a bit harder to get Gage to let him help, but Gage pushed him out of the kitchen. After brushing his teeth, getting dressed, and gathering a few things he might need for the day, he returned to the kitchen in time to see Gage hunting through cabinets, trying to figure out where the clean dishes went. Finn jumped in to help. He was antsy to hit the road.

After the kitchen was put back together, Gage pulled a huge travel mug out of the fridge and handed it to Finn.

“What’s this?”

“Compliments of Grey.”

“Ugh. Must be his hangover detox cocktail.”

“What’s in it?”

“Green things. And sour things.”

Gage laughed, raising Finn’s spirits a little. Maybe they could, at the very least, get back to normal again someday. Finn had recently realized that their friendship was one of the most important things in his life, and he didn’t want it to end because he’d been an idiot.

As if thinking the same thing, Gage stopped laughing, but he didn’t look mad, just confused again. “We should get started.”

“Right.”

They grabbed the lunches Grey had made for them (“Gods and goddesses, he is such a **dad** ” commented Gage) and headed out the door.

###

They managed to visit the sheriff’s office, the coroner’s lab, and the sites of the last two attacks by the time they broke for lunch. Since they weren’t close to Fe and Grey’s place, they found a nearby park with picnic tables, and settled in to eat. With the hunt taking up their focus, they hadn’t had much time to be awkward with each other, but now it was just the two of them sitting in an empty park.

“I’m sorry, about last night,” Gage blurted after a few bites of his sandwich. “It was wrong of me to get mad at you after I had kept something from you myself.”

“It did hurt to hear you so easily reveal something to Grey that you had kept from me.”

Gage gave Finn a look that said “Now you know how I feel.”

Finn gave an embarrassed smile. “But I can see why you maybe didn’t tell me,” he continued. “Hunters do tend to be a bit conservative and judgey about differing lifestyles. Hell, I’m beginning to wonder if I’ve taken my own orientation for granted.” Nerves bubbled up in Finn’s stomach, so he hurried on. “Sex and relationships haven’t been a focus for me in a long time in any case. But I wouldn’t have judged you. And I don’t want to stop you. If you ever see someone you’re interested in, go for it, if you want. We all need to release a little tension sometimes, right?”

“Do we?”

Finn frowned. What the hell did that mean? “We’re around each other constantly. Surely you want to find alternative entertainment occasionally.”

“Do you want me to leave, Finn?”

“No! No. You’ve been… you’ve been great. I never realized before how nice it was having someone to share the burden.”

“So you just want someone to entertain you on the road?”

“I want you!” Finn bit his lip. That came out totally wrong. “To help me, that is. I like being around you. You’re helpful, yeah, but you’re also just… awesome.”

Gage grinned shyly. “Yeah?”

“Yeah. You’re my friend, and I want you to stick around, if you can forgive me. But I understand if you can’t.”

Finn heard a sigh and looked up from his half-eaten sandwich.

“Of course I forgive you. I mean, I’m still a little pissed, but I don’t like holding grudges.”

The knot in Finn’s stomach loosened. “And we can keep working together?”

“I….” Gage pulled his phone from his pocket and stared at it a minute. “I got an email from Anthony’s lawyer this morning. I got the store when he died.”

“What?” The knot tightened again.

“I guess I was the closest thing to family he had, and, of course, he never expected me to figure out what he really was. So, he bequeathed me his store.”

“But we can’t prove his death. We disintegrated his body.”

“He put some weird stipulation that if he was missing for more than three months, I got the store.”

“Wow. So that means you’re going back to New England?”

Gage stared at Finn. “For good? I haven’t decided. Just because I forgive you doesn’t mean I think it would be wise for us to continue working together.”

“Oh.”

“At the very least, it might be smart for me to go home while I figure out what I want to do. I do need to settle Anthony’s affairs.”

Finn blinked blurry eyes. “Yeah, of course. We can head that way when we leave here. I’ll drop you off, and when you decide whether to stay or not stay, just… let me know.”

“Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”

Finn nodded and stared at his sandwich until Gage cleared his throat.

“Hey. I’m glad you want me to stick around, though.”

###

They spent the afternoon chasing down leads, but were no closer to finding the buruburu. The victims seemed to have nothing in common, and they hadn’t all visited the same place before they died. By the time Finn and Gage returned to the house that evening, the tension they had somewhat eased during their lunchtime talk had come back full throttle.

Fe stormed out of her bedroom when she heard them arguing in the family room.

“What did I say about fucking this evening up, Finnian?” she demanded, hands on her hips, staring pointedly at them both.

Finn rubbed tired eyes. “Sorry, sis. This buruburu is being a bitch to track. They found a sixth body this morning.”

Fe’s face softened a little. “That sucks. I think I have a book on Japanese magic. You’re welcome to look through it,” she offered, looking at Gage. “Tomorrow.” She added with an eye roll as she noted Finn heading toward the bookshelves. “Go clean up and get dressed. I want to start soon.”

The shower helped calm Finn down a bit, and he was reluctant to leave, though he knew they were short on time. He finally climbed out, dried off, then went into the bedroom to dress.

“About time,” Gage complained from his bed.

“Just you wait. You won’t want to get out either,” Finn retorted. “That was exactly what I needed.”

Gage shook his head as he grabbed his stuff and headed for the bathroom, muttering about sharing a room with a primpy teenager.

Finn grinned as he dressed. The afternoon might have been a bit rough, but he thought their talk at lunch had helped. Things were feeling a little closer to normal. Then he remembered that Gage would be leaving him after the holidays and his spirits sank again. Would Gage end up staying in New England? If so, would he want Finn out of his life completely, or would Finn be allowed to visit and call? He wasn’t sure he could handle having Gage cut him off completely.

He was still standing half-dressed in the middle of the room when Gage returned a few minutes later.

“Wrackspurt?” Gage asked as he pulled on his shirt.

“Huh?”

“You know, one of those made-up things Luna Lovegood thinks is real. The ones that zoom around your head?”

“Hah! Right. You’ve read Harry Potter?”

“Of course not. But I’ve seen the movies.”

“Sacrilege. Why do I even keep you around?” The grin Finn had been sporting waned when he thought about what he’d just said.

“It’s just like you said earlier, Finn. I’m awesome.”

The ever-present knot in Finn’s stomach loosened again. “Yeah, that’s true.”

Gage looked at Finn. “You going to finish getting dressed, or does your family celebrate half naked?”

“Oh yeah!” Finn looked down, remembering he needed to button up his shirt and put on a belt.

“You look good,” Gage said softly before smirking. “I didn’t know you owned anything not a t-shirt.”

Finn gave him a sheepish look. “Grey shamed me into buying some nice clothes to keep here after the third time I wore a ratty t-shirt out to eat.”

Gage guffawed. “Good for Grey.”

“You look nice, too, Gage.” Finn paused. “Although you look a little strange without a beanie on your head.”

“Just because a guy is cold-blooded doesn’t mean he can’t forgo the hat occasionally.”

“You really wear it because you’re cold? I thought it was just a fashion thing.”

Gage shrugged. “A little of both.”

“You guys ready yet?” called Fe from the hallway.

“Coming!” replied Finn, cinching his belt.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finish the hunt and head back to New England. Gage contemplates his future as he sorts out the store. And it's his and Shayna's turn for sibling heart-to-hearts.

The evening passed pleasantly, and even though Gage missed his own family, Finn’s was a nice substitute. They performed the yule log lighting ceremony around the fire pit in the backyard, then headed inside for the feast. Afterwards, Finn rubbed his stomach and claimed that Grey and Fe had outdone themselves again.

“I miss eating like this when I’m on the road.”

“Well, visit us more often, dumbass. I only invite you, like, every time we talk on the phone. Which happens too rarely, by the way.” Fe gave her brother an exasperated look.

“The phone works both ways, sis.”

“Every time I try to call you, I get ‘Uh, hey, sis. I’m in the middle of something. Lemme call you back.’ Click.” Fe replied, lowering her voice to mock-mimic Finn’s. She turned pleading eyes to Gage. “Would you please make him call more?”

“Um.” Gage replied, shifting uncomfortably. Was Fe going to be mad that he was essentially abandoning her twin?

“I’m taking Gage back to Connecticut after we leave here,” Finn said quietly, looking down at his plate.

“What?!?” Fe looked shocked, but Grey didn’t.

“I, uh, found out that I inherited the magic shop. I need to go back and figure out what I’m going to do with it.” Gage avoided using the word home. He wasn’t sure where his home was right then.

“So it’s temporary?” Grey asked, his face a bit calculating.

Gage smoothed a hand over his hair. “I’m not sure. I need to figure some things out. I think I’ll visit my family, too. I’ve been a little homesick lately. Plus, this was all supposed to be temporary. I’m a witch, not a hunter.”

Finn played with his silverware, keeping his head down. “I think you do a pretty great job at being both.”

Gage’s stomach clenched. “Maybe. We’ll see.”

###

It took another week to track down and get rid of the buruburu. Neither Finn nor Gage were at their best, and it took a while to find the connection between the victims. Once the ghost was taken care of, however, they had no reason to hang around. Christmas had come and gone without much fuss. Gage had decided he wanted to be with his family for the new year, so they headed east a couple of days after Christmas.

Fe hugged Finn tight for far too long and made Gage promised he’d keep in touch. Grey gave Gage a knowing look when they hugged goodbye and told him to think with his heart. Gage managed a half-smile in return, then they were off.

Two very long driving days later, they reached Massachusetts. Gage told Finn that he was welcome to stay a couple of days, but Finn waved it off. “There’s something weird going on up in Springfield, so I thought I’d head up there.”

“Do you need help?”

Finn gave Gage an exasperated look. “The point of you leaving me is for you to actually leave me.”

But leaving was harder than Gage had first thought it would be. They had fallen back into their routine over the last few days, and now he was second guessing his decision to head back to Connecticut.

“It’ll be good. For both of us. You have affairs to put in order, I have… stuff,” Finn encouraged, though he didn’t look happy about it.

“Stuff?” Gage smiled.

Finn shrugged. “Stuff.”

“Yeah, you’re right. Well, I don’t know about your ‘stuff,’ but I do have a magic shop that needs sorting.”

“That’s the spirit. And the minute you call—“

“You’ll come get me, I know.”

“Gage?”

“Yeah?”

“Not to be a completely horrible person, but is it okay if I don’t meet your family today? I want to meet them, someday, just not…”

“I understand, Finn. Yeah, just drop me at the bus station. I’ll have someone come pick me up from there.”

Finn gave Gage a grateful look.

They’d had two days of driving to try to say what they needed to, so their goodbyes were short. Gage called his mom, who picked him up soon after Finn dropped him off. Gage then spent several wonderful days hanging out with his family. He hadn’t told his nanna and mom that he’d been hunting for the last few months. They had thought he was traveling for work and to learn more witchcraft, which was true in a sense. Gage had kept Shayna apprised of his adventures, though, so she was privy to the hunting side of his road trip. Gage told his family that Anthony had died and left the shop to him, and that he was back in New England to settle Anthony’s affairs.

A few days after the new year, Gage took the bus to Connecticut, where it dumped him a few blocks from the magic shop. Gage schlepped his bags to the shop, wondering where his car was. He soon found it still parked behind the building where he’d left it a lifetime ago. Taking a deep breath, he unlocked the shop and stepped inside. It was musty, and a light layer of dust blanketed everything. Gage wrinkled his nose and turned on the lights.

Everything looked the same as when he’d run out the door with Finn the day his life had changed. His notebooks sat on the table in the back of the room next to a box of items he’d meant to stock that day. The only things out of order were the books on several of the bookshelves. Everything seemed to be accounted for, so Gage assumed Anthony had been looking for spells and hadn’t bothered to re-shelve the books after he was done.

The duffle Gage was carrying thumped as he dropped it behind the counter. Gage rubbed his eyes. This was going to be fun.

###

Finn texted a couple of times over the next week. Gage could tell he was trying not to appear worried or desperate to hear what Gage would decide, but pretend casualness did not suit Finn. This made Gage smile. He was glad Finn wasn’t cutting himself off from Gage out of fear or anger. It showed that he really did want to try to make their friendship work. Gage had decided he wanted to go back on the road with Finn, but he still needed time to sort through things—both physical and emotional things.

After talking things over with his sister, he had decided to keep the shop. Shayna wanted to run her own store, and she wasn’t against leaving Massachusetts, so Gage offered to sell her half of the shop. She would run it while he acted as the silent partner. Gage wouldn’t be surprised if Mom and Nanna ended up following Shayna someday. It worked out well because Shayna also wanted his house. Gage was glad everything was staying in the family. That way, if things didn’t work out down the road, he had a place to come back to.

Though figuring out the store and his house turned out to be easier than expected, the same could not be said for his emotions. Gage had stopped being mad at Finn before they’d left Phoenix, but he still worried that going back out on the road with the hunter was a bad idea.

For one, he was completely in love with the man. Tack onto that the fact that Finn might not even be capable of reciprocating romantic feelings. Or he might be, but just might not feel that way about Gage. And Gage wasn’t sure he could continue working with Finn while pretending that his feelings stopped at friendship. Or, what if Finn _did_ return Gage’s feelings, but he didn’t feel any sexual attraction toward Gage. Could Gage handle being in a non-sexual relationship? Would Finn want to try sex anyway, just to make Gage happy? Were they doomed from the start?

Gage had tried to read up on the subject, but the idea was still a new one, so information was slim pickings. And because asexuality was a spectrum, there was a plethora of ways that it could exhibit. Just reading about it made Gage’s head hurt and stomach clench. Some people made it work, but others didn’t. He’d read about marriages destroyed and perfect loves found. He saw that some people were perfectly content while others were completely confused. He’d read about the problems that a sexual partner faced when in a relationship with an asexual. And the problems the asexual partner had in the same relationship.

And then he worried that he was freaking out over nothing. He didn’t know that Finn was any of this. Or even whether Finn had feelings for Gage in the first place. Gage tried to talk himself down, but it didn’t work. He would just lie in bed late into the night, thoughts swirling and jumbling in his head.

He was supremely glad when Shayna and her daughter Tamera moved in at the end of January, as he was kept busy helping her paint and getting his old home office set up as Tam’s bedroom. Still, he and Shayna were as close as siblings who actually liked each other, so it didn’t take her long to ask him what was wrong. She had approached him several times over his vacation with the family, but he had shrugged it off, not sure what to tell her anyway. But one night after Tam had been put to bed (after three bedtime stories from her favorite uncle), Shayna plopped down on the couch next to Gage and handed him a beer.

“Talk,” she said. “I’m not leaving you alone until you tell me what’s wrong. And you know I can hold my alcohol better than you can, so you can’t worm your way out of it, buster.”

Gage sighed, but smiled. He wanted to tell her. He’d been dying to talk to her since the moment he’d walked through the front door of his childhood home, but he had no idea _what_ to tell her. The intervening month of thinking hadn’t helped much, but Shayna was right, he needed to get a few things off his chest.

“I don’t know how…”

Shayna rolled her eyes and swept back her long, curly hair. “Start in the middle and work your way out, of course,” saying it just as their mom always had when they’d been kids.

“I had been traveling with the man I’m in love with for three months before he told me he had a twin sister. I was furious…”

And he told her everything. How they’d been on the run from Anthony and how that led to Gage sticking with Finn after that. How he’d been slowly falling in love with the hunter from the moment they’d met. He talked about the time spent in Phoenix and about the monsters they’d tracked down. Shayna groaned and made surprised noises in all the right places. She hit his arm when he was an idiot and hugged him when he needed comforting. For the first time in four months, he let it all out. He glossed over Finn’s possible sexual orientation, seeing as how it was unproven at this point, and, in any case, it was not his story to tell. He just told her that he’d never seen Finn show interest in anyone else, and so he worried that Finn could also never be interested in him.

Shayna hit him again when he’d finished, for not telling her all of this months ago. “You were still living in New England when you started falling for him. Why didn’t you mention it? I talked to you just a few days before you left town, you great idiot!”

“He was just some guy I talked to occasionally. One I’d seen in real life only twice before, and who only called me when he needed magical help. I was not under any illusions that we could make a relationship out of that.”

“And then you two hit the road together.”

“Exactly. Although, even then I shoved those feelings aside. I wanted him to take me seriously as a hunter, not see me as some lovesick puppy. It wasn’t until Phoenix that things changed.”

“His lying to you?”

“Somewhat. It was also just meeting his family. Seeing him in a home environment. Us interacting in that environment. And then there was his brother-in-law, who I swear must have been a match-maker in a past life. He pushed me pretty hard to confront my feelings.”

Shayna chuckled. “I’m sure you loved that.”

“Oh yeah. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve been a jumble of emotions ever since.”

“So what are you going to do now?”

Gage slumped further back against the couch. “I have no clue. I mean, I guess I’ll try working with Finn again. It’s hard, being with him but not being _with_ him, but I think it would be harder staying away. Plus, it looks like I’ll be homeless soon.”

Shayna snorted. “And making money off of it.”

“Not _making_ money. Just not _losing_ it.”

“You will be making money off of the shop, though.”

“Yeah, and that’s definitely a load off of my mind. I am so tired of camping. I wonder what Finn would say to an RV…”

“Maybe you should make sure you two can work together before you start thinking about permanent living arrangements. Have you named your future children already, too?”

Gage gave Shayna a sheepish grin.

“Oh goddess, you have.”

“Not necessarily _Finn’s_ and my children. But everyone thinks about kids names from time to time, right?”

“Uh, not me.”

“Well, you’re weird.”

“Says the witch who is about to go back to being a hunter…on the road with the guy he’s in love with. You’re psychotic.”

“I’d have to be, living with you for fifteen years.”

Shayna threw a pillow at him. Then sobered.

“But really. Are you going to be okay? Done freaking out?”

“Yeah. I think so. I’ll call Finn tomorrow, see where he is. Decide when and if he can stop by.”

“Oh! That reminds me. I’m pissed he skipped out on meeting us last month.”

“He’s not really a people person, and things were still awkward between us. It would’ve gone badly.”

“Did you decide that or him?”

“It was mutual.”

Shayna quirked an eyebrow. “If you say so.”

“I do say so. If Nanna and Mom don’t descend on us before he gets here, I might be able to persuade him to meet just you and Tam. He can probably manage that.”

“He’d better. And yeah, I’ll keep Mom and Nanna away until you’re gone. Besides, where would they stay? Your house is tiny, bro.”

“I did that on purpose, you know.”

“I had my suspicions….”

Gage grinned tiredly at his sister. He’d missed hanging out with her. They had been close as kids, but then had gone to separate colleges. But every time they saw each other, it was like no time had passed. They just slipped back into their easy banter. He was happy they could talk for hours without running out of things to say.

“I’m glad we had a chance to do this.”

“You’re welcome.”

“Say what?”

“Umm, who forced you to spill your guts? Oh right, that was me. You’d still be crying in your teacup if you had your way.”

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“Umm, yeah it was. It’s been like living with a moody teenager. I was this close to sending you to a hotel.” She pinched her thumb and pointer finger together with just the slightest space separating them to show how close she was.

Gage rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Okay, I need some sleep. I have to do more inventory at the shop tomorrow. You still good to go over books in the afternoon?”

“I will be there with the bells on. Anna said she’d be happy to watch Tam, so I’ll drop by as soon as I can get the kiddo fed and down for a nap after lunch.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

Anna was Gage’s next door neighbor. Gage had missed his chats with her on his way to and from work, and he was glad she and Shayna seemed to get along. Anna was several years past retirement and had told Gage she was delighted to have a child next door to keep her entertained.

Shayna stood up and stretched. “Sure you don’t want the bed tonight? I can fit a little more easily on the couch than you can.”

“Nah, I’m good. I had several months of camping and couch surfing as training. And I’d better get used to it again.” Gage pulled out the sheets and blankets he’d been using for bedding the past few nights. “G’night, sis.”

“’Night, Gage.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn accidentally uses the L word, Gage infodumps because Finn is being thick, and the two discuss their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, this is another long chapter (I seem to enjoy infodumping when it comes to relationship talks--sorry!). 
> 
> Secondly, Finn's experience and asexuality is his own. It's vaguely taken from my own asexuality (though it took me years of sex and marriage to realize that I was asexual, while Finn just needs a good info-whollop to figure it out). I'm not suggesting that you should go around diagnosing people's asexuality, but in this particular story, I think it works. Gage is a very open person, and now that he has his suspicions, he wants to lay all the cards out on the table. While I kind of wish someone had done this for me (instead of me thinking for years that there was something wrong with me), I can totally see how some people might take offense at having someone else explain their own orientation to them. 
> 
> To add on to this, I am not saying that asexuals should have sex before deciding they're asexual. That's stupid. But again, taking Finn's experience from my own, I would not have been satisfied in claiming my asexuality without at least trying sex first, even if I'd had my suspicions. We'll just call it the science side of me needing proof. ;-) 
> 
> Thirdly, I love Finn's description of kissing as a handshake with lips. This is so me. I find sex boring, but I find kissing EXTREMELY boring. What's the point? At least with sex you get an orgasm.
> 
> Okay, enough of my talking. I hope this is chapter is not too infodumpy/boring. One more chapter after this, and then we're done!

The phone rang just as Finn was sliding into the car after packing up his gear. He had a feeling he’d be wrapping up the hunt today and was hoping someone was calling with another lead. His heart stuttered when he saw Gage’s name on his caller ID, and he dropped his phone. He caught it before it fell, which of course meant his hand slid across the screen and accidentally answered the call. Finn quickly brought the phone up to his ear.

“Finn?” he heard Gage ask.

“Hey, Gage. Is everything okay?”

“Uh yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Well… you haven’t called once since I dropped you off, so I figured something must be wrong.”

“Oh, right. No, everything is good. I’m close to getting the store sorted.”

Finn sucked in a breath. The time of reckoning had arrived. What had Gage decided?

“Oh yeah? That’s good,” he replied, trying for casual.

“Yeah. Shayna is buying half of it and moving to town, so I’m actually pretty excited to be keeping the store. She got into town about a week ago, and we’ve been busy going over everything.”

Finn’s stomach sank. “You’re keeping the store? That’s… that’s good. Can I come visit sometime?”

Gage chuckled. “Well, we’ll have to drop in to see Shayna any time we’re in the area. She’d _kill_ me if I didn’t.”

“We?”

“And I suppose you can visit the store when you come into town to pick me up. Think you’ll be able to make it any time soon? You in the middle of a job? Hey, where are you anyway? You didn’t say when you texted last.”

“You want to come with me?” Finn’s heartbeat pattered. “Back on the road? Like before?”

“I… if that’s what you want, yeah.” Finn didn’t understand why Gage sounded resigned.

“Don’t come if you don’t want to.”

“I do. I miss you, Finn. I miss hunting. It’s just going to take some adjusting is all.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’ve already downloaded two books I want to listen to. I pretty much have to come now.”

Finn grinned. “Yeah, I guess you do.”

“So, where are you and when can you come get me? Oh, and Shayna says you have to stay at least two nights. But don’t worry. It’s just her and Tam. Nanna and Mom are still at home. Shayna won’t let them visit until after I leave.”

“Heh. I think I can handle that. I’m hoping to be done with the hunt today or tomorrow. I can head out after that. I’m in Portland, so it’ll only take me a few hours to get there.”

“Good.” Finn heard the smile in Gage’s voice. He relaxed. Gage wasn’t going to abandon him. “Text when you head out.”

“I will. See you soon.” Finn couldn’t help his grin at the words. He couldn’t wait for things to get back to normal.

###

Finn pulled his car up in front of Gage’s house, turned off the engine, but didn’t get out. Now that he was there, he was getting nervous. What if things weren’t the same now? He didn’t know how to act. During the time apart, his conviction that he did harbor feelings for Gage only strengthened. He’d miss the witch sorely. Parts of it were simple—Gage was a great witch and a decent hunter, and jobs went much more slowly without him around to help.

But more than that, Finn missed the things that made Gage unique. His ever-present bag of tea tins and the duffle full of books that he schlepped around. The gods-awful banjo alarm and his weird snoring. The way he curled his sleeping bag right up next to Finn’s when he got cold early in the morning. His sarcasm and his caring heart. The way he made it seem like he was the one protecting Finn, instead of the other way around. The TBR list he had started once he’d discovered audiobooks. The way he got so focused when he was in the middle of coding or figuring out a new spell.

Finn couldn’t decide what to do about his newly discovered feelings, though. He was sure he’d rather spend the rest of his life with Gage without acting on those feelings, rather than being apart from the man. But if there was a chance they could become more, Finn wanted to take that chance. At the same time, he didn’t want to alienate his friend.

Then Finn looked out of the window to see Gage sauntering down the sidewalk toward the car, and something welled up inside of him. Finn knew he had to try. He was in love with Gage. He thought the risk was worth it.

Gage opened the passenger door and slid in. “I know you’re more used to being inside cars than houses, but I promise my house is a perfectly nice one. No poltergeists, I promise.”

“I’m in love with you,” Finn blurted. “I think. Pretty sure. But I thought you should know. Oops.” Well, he hadn’t expected to say it right then, but sometimes brains and hearts got confused. Best to get it over with first, right?

Gage stared at him, clenching his fists in his lap, grin sliding from his face. After a minute, during which Finn almost spoke about eight times, Gage sighed. “Come inside.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that. I’ve freaked you out, haven’t I?”

Gage shook his head. “It’s cold out here, man. Please come into the _warm_ house so we can talk about this? Preferably with a hot drink.” He slid out of the seat and shut the door without waiting to see if Finn would follow.

Finn got out of the car, grabbed his duffle, and hurried after Gage. Crap! If his big mouth ruined this… no. If Gage was even slightly interested, the admission would help. If Gage hated the idea, well, that wouldn’t have changed even if Finn had eased into the declaration. Gage said they’d talk about it, so Finn would just wait and see.

“Shayna is enrolling Tam in pre-school then running a few errands, so we have privacy for at least a couple of hours,” Gage explained as Finn entered the kitchen, where water was already boiling in the kettle. “Earl Grey, white, or chai rooibos?” Gage held up tea tins.

“Chai,” Finn replied, sliding into a kitchen chair. He looked around the house. The place was small and cozy. The kitchen and living area were an open floor plan, so he was able to see framed photos on the mantle and books on the shelves, along with the usual witch’s tools scattered throughout the living room and kitchen. It looked just like Gage’s house was supposed to look. Tidy, but not a showroom. Real life happened here amidst the comfy-looking chairs and warm, autumn-colored décor. Why would Gage ever want to leave here?

Gage sat in the chair across from Finn, bringing Finn’s focus back to their conversation.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to put you in the spotlight like that.”

“Did you mean what you said? You’re not just trying to convince me to come with you?”

“Seriously, Gage? I’m pretty sure there are a _million_ things that would’ve made better persuasive arguments than the L-word. Nope, it was the plain, unadulterated truth, straight from my dumb mouth.”

“Good, because I’m pretty sure I started falling for you the moment you and your frowny face came into the shop that first time.” Gage gave Finn a shy look.

That brought Finn up short. Gage had mentioned flirting with him that first time, but Finn hadn’t figured feelings to be a part of it.

“But you didn’t even know me.”

Gage shrugged. “I knew enough. You wanted to help people—to save those kids. You were mad at yourself for not nabbing the witch before then. You had the world on your shoulders and were willing to go down under a pile of demons just to fix things. Plus, you’re damn good lucking.”

Finn felt himself flush. Mostly about being called good looking, but the other things as well. That’s what Gage saw when he looked at Finn? Grey had once told him he was selling himself short, but Finn had figured that was just Grey being his usual nice-guy self.

“Yeah? Well, you’re not so bad yourself,” Finn replied lamely.

“Could’ve fooled me. I had no clue you had any feelings for me. I believed you barely _liked_ me half the time.”

“I hold things close to the vest.”

“Is that all it is?”

“Huh?”

Gage took a deep breath. “I’ve never seen you check anyone out. Ever. You’ve never dated anyone. Fe said you had _one_ crush back in school. I had kind of thought… maybe… that you’re not attracted to people.”

Huh. Finn had never thought about it that way. It was true he didn’t go around salivating after anyone, but that was just because he had other priorities. “I’ve been a little busy the past few years hunting down my mother’s killer, plus a host of other baddies.”

“I know. But even focused people have their heads turned from time to time. I’ve never even seen a quick glance from you.”

“Well I never saw anything from you either. That’s why I didn’t know you were gay!”

“You may be an excellent hunter, Finn, but your observation skills are pretty shitty when you’re not on the job. I am not discreet in my appraisal.”

“Well you must be a little. You say you have feelings for me, but I never saw you checking me out.”

“That’s the first thing I did when we met!”

“I thought you were sizing me up.”

“Goddess! You must be…” Gage sighed.

“I must be what?”

Gage took off his beanie and rubbed his head. “Why do you say you might be in love with me?”

“What?!?”

“What led you to the conclusion that you’re in love with me? Flutters in the stomach? Getting a whiff something that reminds you of me and feeling happy because of it? Wanting to kiss me? Wanting to throw me down on a bed and strip me?”

“What does the last one have to do with love?”

“People have different ideas of what’s involved in love. I just want to know what yours are.”

“Well. The first two, definitely. I had butterflies the whole last hour of the drive here. And, damn. A few weeks ago, I sat at a diner counter next to someone drinking Earl Grey, and I immediately thought of you and your bag of teas. And it made me smile, but it also made me miss you like crazy.”

“And?”

“And I want to wake up to your stupid banjo music. And I want you stopping the audiobooks midsentence because you want to talk about it. And I want to spend my evenings together—you with that little frown between your eyes as you figure out a spell and me, I don’t know, knitting.”

Gage grinned. “Knitting?”

Finn gave an embarrassed shrug. “I always wanted to learn to knit.”

“That’s adorable. What else?”

“Now you’re just fishing for compliments.”

“Do you want to kiss me, Finn?”

Finn paused. Of course he did. That was a stupid question. Wasn’t it? “I…yes?”

“And when you think about intimacy, do you think about us having sex? Or making out? How about cuddling?”

The thought of the two of them bundled up in a sleeping bag together on a cold morning made Finn feel warm and happy. “I realized after you left that I liked it when you burrowed up next to me in the mornings.”

“Naked cuddling?”

“ _What_ is your obsession with getting naked?”

“I’m a young human being with a sex drive.”

“I have a sex drive, but I’m not obsessed with seeing what’s underneath people’s clothes. I’m not fourteen.” Finn rolled his eyes.

“But it is a part of many romantic relationships. Generally, when the lovey-dovey feelings come around, people start wanting to bone each other. Often before the L-word enters the picture, actually.”

“I really don’t understand people who want to have sex with strangers. It just seems so… cold.” Okay, this conversation was getting annoying. Finn started to fidget.

“I’m not a stranger, Finn. And you say you’re in love with me, so feelings aren’t the issue. Do you want to have sex with me?”

“I don’t know!” Finn began panicking. What the hell was all of this about?

“Why do you think that is?”

“I’ve… never had sex before. I don’t know what it’s like. I don’t know if we’re compatible.”

“But you want to cuddle with me. Have you ever done that before?”

“That’s not the same, though. We do touch each other occasionally. I like being close to you, so it makes sense that I’d know I’d like cuddling with you.”

“That’s not a logical leap for most people, Finn.”

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at, Gage! Are you saying that I’m not attracted to you? That maybe I only _think_ I’m attracted to you because you’re the first person to really pay attention to me in ten years. The first person that I’ve spent significant time with as an adult. Because that’s bullshit. What I feel for you is different than what I feel for Fe or for Grey. Or for my hunter acquaintances. I might not know them as well as I know you, but I can tell that what I felt for you the day I walked back into your shop after a year―that was different than what I’d felt for anyone else I had ever met. I might not have realized it for what it was, but I knew it was different. Hell, I didn’t come into the shop because I was in the area. I drove there specifically to see you. Because I _wanted_ to see you. I wanted to know what it was like to be in the same room with you after a year of only hearing your voice. So don’t try to convince me that my feelings aren’t real, okay?”

Finn took a deep breath and looked at Gage. The idiot was grinning.

“Well, that actually wasn’t the aim of my questioning, but I’m glad to know your thoughts.”

“Then what _are_ you getting at?”

Gage grimaced and scratched his nose nervously. “I was hoping I could lead you to the realization yourself, but you’re being pretty thick about the whole thing.”

“What thing?”

“There are several types of attraction, most notably, sexual and romantic. Most people think the two are interconnected. That if you feel romantic love for someone, you must want to have sex with them, right?”

“Yeah.”

“And a lot of people do behave that way, but not everyone. Just think of people who prefer one-night-stands to intimate relationships. They’re sexually attracted to people, but don’t feel romantic attraction.”

“Yeah. I don’t understand that, but there are plenty of people like that. Lots of hunters, actually.”

“Exactly. Well, what about the opposite? People who feel romantic attraction, but not sexual attraction.”

“But—oh.” The lightbulb went on. “You think I’m not sexually attracted to you?” That was ridiculous. Finn had to be attracted to Gage. He wanted to be close to him. The topic of cuddling had produced nice thoughts and feelings. And kissing seemed… alright. Oh. Most people really liked kissing, didn’t they? And Finn just felt… okay about it.

“I don’t think you’re sexually attracted to anyone.” Oh.

“You think I can fall in love, but not in lust.”

“Exactly,” Gage said softly. “Am I freaking you out?”

“No. Not exactly. It’s like when I learned you were gay. Everything spins around a bit, but when it falls back into place, it makes total sense.”

“So you think I might be right?”

“But what about the cuddling?”

Gage laughed, and Finn bristled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Sorry, it’s just, you looked like someone had taken away your puppy. But no one can tell you that something is right or wrong. You just do what feels good for you. There’s no need to conform to any standards.”

“Oh.”

“So, cuddling is fine if you want it. So is kissing. Or not. It’s totally up to you.”

“And what about you? You said you’re a normal human with a sex drive—wait. I have a sex drive.”

“And that’s perfectly normal. Some asexuals masturbate. Some even think that sex feels good when they’re in the moment. The idea of having sex just doesn’t occur to them on their own. As for me, yes, I’m sexual.”

“So we can’t be together, even if we love each other.”

Gage sighed and rubbed his face. “This is where it gets complicated. There are asexuals in relationships with sexuals. It’s not easy. A lot of compromise is involved. And sometimes it doesn’t work out. But sometimes it does. If both partners are willing to work and communicate, they can have a loving and fulfilling relationship.”

“But one of us would always be sacrificing. Either you’d have to go without sex, or I’d have to have it.”

“But relationships are full of compromise already. It’s not the end of the world.”

Finn pushed the heels of his hands against his eyes. This was confusing. And full of hypotheticals. He needed to bring it back round to reality. “Okay, so what does this mean for us? Do you want to be in a relationship with me? And if you did, how would you want to go about the whole sex thing?”

Gage was quite for a moment, then he laid a hand on top of one of Finn’s and looked him in the eye. “I thought about this for a long time. Because it _would_ require sacrifice. For both of us. And I decided that, at least for me, my love for you is stronger than the need to have a lot of sex. Sex peters out for most relationships anyway, so the romantic feelings are more important than the physical ones.”

“Wow.” Finn laughed. “Just a month ago we weren’t even sure we would stay friends, and now we’re talking about being in love and having a relationship. Don’t you think that’s crazy?”

Gage grinned and squeezed the hand he was still holding. “Normal is boring. So, what do you think? Or do you need time to mull it over? I won’t rush you.”

Finn considered it for a moment. It’s not like Gage had really told him anything he didn’t already know, even if the knowledge was subconscious. Gage just helped Finn to see the whole picture. He wasn’t freaked out. He didn’t think he needed to get counseling. There was just now a line connecting all the things he’d already known.

“I know I love you and that I want to try a relationship with you. If you’re okay with feeling out the physical side with me, then I’m game. Although, you know there’s the possibility I could really hate sex and never want it ever again, right?”

Gage nodded. “I know. Like I said, you’re worth more than just sex. Even if we never have sex even once, I’d be happy.”

“And I want you to be happy. If anything about this gets too frustrating, you have to tell me, okay? And I’m sure I’ll be a shitty boyfriend. I was already a shitty friend and a shitty brother. So, please, knock me upside the head if I start being stupid, got it?”

“ _Start_ being stupid?”

“More stupid than usual, okay, smartass?” Finn grinned. He’d missed their silly banter. Then he latched on to something Gage had said and sobered. “I do want to try sex, though, at least once. Curiosity, you know?”

“And that’s fine. Just know that if you change your mind, I’ll be okay with that. So I’m suggesting that we leave it off the table for now—not even think about it—and just do what feels right as we go along. How does that sound?”

“Works for me. However,” Finn paused to stare thoughtfully at Gage’s full lips. “I do want to satisfy one bit of curiosity now, though.”

“What’s that?”

Instead of answering with words, Finn leaned forward, put his hands on Gage’s arms, and pressed his lips to Gage’s. He kept it simple. Besides not really knowing what to do or expect, he wanted to start from the beginning, like he was a teenager again. He noted that Gage’s lips were warm and soft, that Gage smelled really nice up close, and that his arms were more muscly than Finn had realized. He heard Gage’s breath speed up a bit as the witch put his own hands on Finn’s waist. He didn’t increase or change the kiss, though. Still, Finn pulled back, not wanting to tempt the man too much.

Gage’s eyes stayed close and his hands stayed on Finn for a while. Finn waited patiently for him to come back. He was smiling when Gage finally opened his eyes. “Ready to join the class, Mr. Abramsen?” Finn teased, keeping his own hands on Gage’s arms.

“Mmmm,” was Gage’s clever reply.

Finn lifted an eyebrow. “Are you playing with me? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t that amazing.”

Gage cocked his head. “Apparently not for you.”

Finn shrugged. “It was fine. Kind of like a handshake with lips?”

“Really? That’s all I rate?” Gage smiled sweetly, though, taking the sting out of the words. “I’m guessing tonsil hockey is out then, huh?”

“Probably, but I reserve the right to judge until we’ve actually tried it.”

“We don’t have—“

“I want to, though. I want to know for myself. But maybe not now? The idea that your sister could walk in here any minute kinda ruins the mood, don’t you think?”

Gage didn’t look quite so convinced. Still, he sat back in his chair, finally removing his hands from Finn’s waist. Finn felt the loss instantly.

“I do like touching you, though,” Finn offered. “Maybe we can move this to the couch? We could read or nap or watch TV? I just want to be close to you for a while.”

Gage grinned. “I think that could be arranged.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finn's and Gage's first morning after, four-year-old logic, and a discussion about settling down. Plus a small epilogue to close things off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The last chapter. Thanks for sticking with it. These boys were in my head for quite a while before I put fingers to keyboard, so they are quite dear to me. Finn is definitely me in a lot of ways (although I cannot kick ass at all) and so getting this story out was quite cathartic. Even if everyone else hates it, I will always love it for that solitary reason. 
> 
> Anywho, I hope you enjoyed this journey with my boys. :-)

Floors had not gotten any softer in the past two months, Gage decided as he rolled over the next morning. Harder, actually, seeing as when he and Finn camped out, they had the luxury of an air mattress, which they’d somehow not thought to get out last night before bed. Probably because they’d passed out watching TV on the couch first, and only moved to the floor in the middle of the night when they need to stretch out. Well, Finn had moved to the floor and had forced Gage—who was perfectly happy to stay curled up on the couch—along with him.

Where was the traitor anyway? His pillow was empty, as were the couch and chair. As if Gage’s thoughts had conjured him, Finn sauntered into the room with two mugs, looking way too sexy in flannel pajama pants and an overly large t-shirt. Gage tried to push the thought aside and focus on his new boyfriend, who sat down on the couch, holding out a mug. Gage took it gratefully, sitting up and facing Finn.

“You’ve gotten soft,” Finn teased. “You know it’s back to early mornings and late nights once we’re back on the road, don’t you?”

Gage grimaced, sipping hot Irish Breakfast. “Don’t remind me. I still have one more day of freedom.”

Finn raised an eyebrow. “And you think I won’t want to take off early tomorrow why?”

“Seriously?”

“There’s something hinky going on in South Florida. We’ll need to get an early start.”

“Why the hell aren’t hunters more organized? People should have regions they cover, instead of crisscrossing the U.S. all the time. It’s not smart.”

“You don’t like traveling?”

“It’s not completely horrible. I do like seeing other parts of the country. It’s just not very efficient. And it’d be nice to stay in a bed from time to time.”

Finn stared down at his mug, turning it round and round in his hands. “We could… get a place, if you want. I mean, plenty of hunters are regional, actually. I’ve just never wanted to settle down.”

“I’m not going to force you to do something you don’t want,” Gage began.

Finn shook his head, finally looking up at Gage, face slightly pink. “I’ve just never had anyone to make it worthwhile before.”

The words warmed Gage. Before he could reply, though, his niece raced into the room, looking like she’d been awake for hours. Gage glanced at Finn. “We’ll discuss this later, okay?”

Finn nodded, then grinned as Tam hurled herself at her uncle. “Finally! You’ve been asleep for hours and hours and hours. But Uncle Finn said I couldn’t wake you up. He said you’re a grumpy bear when you have to wake up too early. But it wasn’t early, but I didn’t wake you up, because I’m nice.”

Gage raised his eyebrows at Finn at Tam’s use of the word “uncle.”

Finn shrugged. “Blame your sister. She started in on that first thing this morning.” He didn’t look very put out by the idea, though, so Gage let it slide. Still, he’d give his sister a stern talking to before they left. He didn’t want to get Tam’s or Shayna’s hopes up, just in case…he pushed the thoughts aside before they began to stew. He was going to enjoy his time with Finn, and not think about what ifs.

He turned back to Tam. “Well I’m awake now. What’s up?”

“Mama’s making **waffles**.” Tam’s eyes grew twice their usual size, indicating how rare that event was.

“Isn’t that nice of her. What for?”

Tam shrugged, settling in on Gage’s lap. She pulled the mug of tea close enough to sniff, then wrinkled her nose. “That smells gross, Uncle Gage.”

“Watch out, Tam. Your uncle doesn’t like it when you insult his tea.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t call his drink gross. It makes him sad.”

“Sorry.”

“That’s okay, Tam. Tea is a grown-up drink. You don’t have to like it.”

Finn mouthed _yet_ , and Gage stuck out his tongue at him.

“Like beer?” Tam asked, oblivious to the exchange.

Gage laughed. “Sort of.”

“Oh,” she replied, with a rare show of acceptance. “I’m gonna go get my juice now.” She wiggled out of Gage’s arms and raced around the couch to the kitchen.

“She’s a character,” Finn noted, watching her leave.

“Most four-year-olds are,” Gage replied, looking up at his boyfriend. His boyfriend. He still couldn’t believe that he could call Finn that. The man in question was looking cozy and way cute curled up on the couch.

“Where does a morning kiss rate on the asexuality-o-meter?” Gage asked before he could stop himself. He didn’t want to push, but he did need to know the boundaries.

Finn wrinkled his nose. “Asexuality-o-meter? Really, that’s the best you could come up with?”

“Hey, I just woke up,” Gage defended. “Give me time to think up something better.”

“Fine, fine.” Finn paused for a few moments. “Morning kisses are fine, as are goodbye and hello kisses, and goodnight kisses. And they’re better than fine when accompanied by a hug.” He held out a hand.

Gage contemplated pulling Finn down on the floor, but then they’d end up covered in very hot tea, so he took the proffered hand and clambered up onto the couch instead. He wrapped his free arm around Finn’s waist, cuddling up next to his boyfriend. After a couple of minutes—during which Finn sighed contentedly more than once—Finn turned his head for the promised kiss.

Despite wanting to climb on top of Finn and make out for a while, Gage kept it short and sweet, with no tongue and very minimal groping. It was going to take him a while to get used to keeping his distance, and he wondered how long it’d be before he started to lose his grip on his sanity. But he’d told Finn the truth the day before—he valued the romantic side of their relationship more than the physical. It would be hard (pun intended), but he’d figure out how to make it work.

The sound of a clearing throat also kept Gage in check. He looked up to see Shayna standing in the bedroom door smirking. She pointed back to the bedroom she’d just vacated. “Did you guys need the room? Just remember to change the sheets if you decided to go at it. And be quiet about it. There is a child in the house.” Her face was a mix of amusement and disgust.

Shayna had come home the previous afternoon to find the two men cuddled on the couch under a blanket, Finn reading out loud to a drowsing Gage. Although she’d raised her eyebrows, she hadn’t said a word. She had eyed them quite closely throughout dinner, though. Gage knew he owed her an explanation before he hit the road. He made a note to take care of that later in the day.

“Hush, you,” Gage shot back, pulling back a bit from Finn. “A good morning kiss does not require a bedroom or new sheets.”

“Maybe if you’re an old, married couple.”

Gage rolled his eyes, not wanting to get into _that_ explanation right now. “I thought you were making waffles,” he said, changing the subject.

Shayna’s face showed she knew what he was doing, but she went along with it. “I finished twenty minutes ago. Finn wanted to wait for you, though, and then Tam copy-catted him, so I figured I’d get a shower in while I waited for sleeping beauty to rise and shine.”

On cue, Gage’s stomach growled. “I’m ready now,” he replied with a grin, getting up and pulling Finn with him.

With a shake of her head, Shayna headed into the kitchen. Finn started to follow before Gage whirled him around, placed his hands gently on Finn’s face, and gave Finn a quick peck on the lips.

“What was that for?”

“Because I can. And because you brought me tea and waited for me to eat.”

Finn’s lips quirked into a small smile before giving Gage a quick peck in return. “Works for me.”

###

True to Finn’s threat, they left early the next morning, Finn anxious to settle whatever was happening in Florida. Gage decided to broach the subject of living situation once they were on the road.

“If we did settle down…where would you want to go? Arizona?” Gage didn’t relish being that far from his family, but would do it if that made Finn happy.

Finn made a face. “Arizona is unbearable for three-quarters of the year. I was thinking somewhere in the Midwest? That would put us between our families with the added bonus of higher-than-average monster activity. What is it about small Midwestern towns that draws the monsters and crazies?”

“Monsters like peace and quiet, too, man.”

Finn laughed. “Maybe for your average, non-violent, fanged being, but you’d think the scary ones would want a bit more excitement. But regardless of what monsters consider prime real estate, where would _you_ want to live? We can stay in New England if you’d rather.”

“That’s sweet, but I like the idea of living between our families. Missouri is beautiful,” Gage replied, thinking of the route they had crossed getting from Phoenix to Massachusetts last time.

“Yeah? I think so, too.” Finn had that shy look on his face again, though he stared at the road and not at Gage.

“You sure you’d want to settle down?” Gage questioned, worrying the hem of his shirt. “I don’t want you to change just for me. I want you to be what you are.”

“Very sure,” Finn reassured. “In the beginning, I was running—both away from Mum’s death and toward her killer. Then I had no reason to stay in one place. But the idea of stability―of maybe being able to see Fe more often—sounds nice. And we’d still travel, just not as far. And we’d have a place to stay in between hunts. A real bed, even.” Finn colored a bit at those last words.

Gage felt hopeful. “Just one bed?” He knew Finn’s thoughts were much tamer than a lot of 30-year-olds’ would be, but that didn’t bother him. He just was happy he’d be able to wake up next to the man he loved every morning.

“If that’s okay with you. I mean, it’d be nice to have a guest bed, for family and couch-surfing hunters, but I hoped you and I would…but if that would be too difficult for you…”

“Yes. I mean no. I mean,” Gage stopped to organize his thoughts. “No, it would not be too difficult. Yes, I want us to have bed together. And a house. With a spare room for family and couch-surfing hunters. And maybe a little space for preparing spell ingredients?” he asked hopefully

“That sounds nice,” Finn said quietly, a small smile teasing his lips.

**Eight months later**

Finn stood in the middle of their new living room, hands on hips, surveying the space. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but we need more stuff.”

Gage huffed a laugh as he set down the final box. They had just finished moving Gage’s things from his old house—now officially Shayna’s and Tam’s—into their new cottage. It was small, but had a great deck with a gorgeous view of the rolling green hills of Missouri. They had bought a bed and a couch the day before, but didn’t have much else in the way of furniture yet.

“We’ll accumulate more over time. Scuttlebutt says Mom and Nanna are getting us a table and chairs, and Fe mentioned bookcases in her last email.”

Finn grunted, but still looked concerned.

Gage snagged Finn by the waist, pulling him in for a hug. After almost a year together, he was finally used to being able to touch Finn whenever he wanted. It had been tough at first, realigning his body and brain to deal with different circumstances than he’d been trained to believe in. But through a lot of talking and trying things out, he and Finn had settled on a level of intimacy they were both comfortable with. He would always feel some sexual attraction for his boyfriend, but it wasn’t as important as being able to hold Finn and keep him safe. Gage had been a little amazed at how much cuddling had satisfied his need for physical intimacy.

Although they each liked their space when sleeping, the two men spent at least a few minutes tangled together before and after sleeping, Finn sighing contentedly into Gage’s neck as Gage lazily swept a hand up and down Finn’s back. And though Finn was not any more a fan of make-outs than sex, short kisses throughout the day weren’t uncommon.

When they had time, that is. They started circling the Midwest at the beginning of the year, getting used to the idea of staying in one region. As Finn had noted, there was plenty of monster activity to keep them busy. They’d gained a bit of a reputation in Southern Missouri, and had eventually decided to make it home. Gage knew they’d still head out on hunts fairly often, but just knowing they had a place to call home made a difference. A familiar bed to crawl into at the end of a long hunt sounded glorious. Speaking of…

“We do have a new bed to christen,” Gage said, reminding Finn that they did have a few pieces of furniture that had been delivered that morning.

Finn looked up at Gage confusedly.

“I could use a nap in the worst way.” Gage told him. “Lugging and unpacking boxes is hard work.”

Finn’s expression cleared. “You don’t have that much stuff,” he teased, but he headed for the bedroom, leading his boyfriend by the hand.

“This was after an eighteen-hour drive from Shayna’s, may I remind you?” Gage fell onto the bed as soon as they reached it, pulling Finn down with him. “Why you felt the need to do the drive without stopping for the night…”

“We have a house now. I wanted to use it.” Finn replied, stripping down to boxers and a t-shirt before snuggling next to Gage.

“Mmmm,” Gage hummed, putting his arms around Finn. “We have a house. That’s a nice thought.”

“Yeah.”

 

The End.


End file.
